A friend who's been retired to Florida for some years complains that the St. Pete (Petersburg) Times has just gone through its second revision/redesign in 19 months and really "screwed it up." He can't find any of his favorite features. His solution--look into subscribing to the Tampa Trib (Tribune). Reckon he's in for a shock. Anyway, we are not alone in the revise-and-repulse field.
I feel the Florida retiree's and TD staffer's pain. Redesign is often the first refuge newspaper executives as circulation, advertising shrink and sphincters constrict. Repackage the product. The product often comes through the process more colorful but smaller and with less news.
I was a reporter (not a journalist) for nearly 40 years. I always felt that news sells newspapers. Rather than frittering time and money away on a new package more money and resources should be invested in finding and reporting news. But what do I know, I was a Russian major. Wasson
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