Steinblogger

Get your mind out of the gutter! Actually, the gutter, typographically speaking, may be the right place to be.

Whenever I visit my parents, who live in Louisville, I’m struck by the Courier Journal and how…insignificant it appeared compared to the New York Times. I always assumed it had a friendlier typeface or layout. Or maybe shorter articles. Now I know my (admittedly shamefully elitist) opinion was at least partially a function of its size, not the content.

When I picked up the Times today, it felt less substantial. It turns out, it’s physically true. As of today, the New York Times has altered it’s print size and layout to be like other papers. I had no idea that the Times was non-standard (hey, I always thought The Times was the standard when it came to newspapers).

What is striking to me is that I immediately felt that the paper was more casual and less serious, more like what I feel about the Louisville Courier Journal. That made me realize what an impact size has on my perception of a publication. I trust that there are “top people” working at the Times, but I’m sure that the Courier Journal and its employees are as serious, even if their format is smaller. It’s not the size of the paper, but the quality of the journalism?

Is this a necessary change for the Times? Apparently, it will save money in print cost, which is good. They have less words per page, and there’s no indication that they will increase pages in order to make up for that (no indication to the contrary, either), so it’s anyone’s guess if it impacts the content. They have cut a column of letters to the editor, which is a shame. That happens to be a section I read top to bottom every day. I doubt I’ll take the time to get online to read the rest of the letters, which is what they suggest you do.

One big positive, though: I can have an entire page open in front of me on the subway and not elbow the person next to me.