The Mario Blog

05.30.2007—2am    Post #88
24 SATA | A new colorful daily in Croatia: ready for the “digital-age reader”

In the midst of a cold, snowy winter that many Croatians confess has extended a bit too long, there is something new, “hot”, full of color and just about the perfect size to brighten things up: it is 24 SATA (24 Hours). 24 SATA (24 Hours) is a new newspaper designed to make reading faster […]

In the midst of a cold, snowy winter that many Croatians confess has extended a bit too long, there is something new, “hot”, full of color and just about the perfect size to brighten things up: it is 24 SATA (24 Hours).

24 SATA (24 Hours) is a new newspaper designed to make reading faster and more pleasurable. Yes, its format is the “micro” or super compact—-slightly larger than A4 for the Europeans, 8 1.2 by 11 for Americans.

“We have conceived this newspaper as the ultimate publication for the digital age,” says Mario Garcia, who has been chief architect of the design, working closely with project leader Hans Gasser, creator Thomas Dobernigg, who is responsible for content development and Dietmar Wallner for logistics and IT. “We are well aware of the importance of visuals, but now we also know that there is a whole generation of readers who are accustomed to seeing very small photographic images on their mobile phones and digital cameras. So, why not bring those same images to print? This newspaper will have a brand new printing press that allows it to reproduce color very well, thus enhancing the legibility of small photos.”

The style of 24 SATA is to tell as many of the stories as possible through photos. The so called “visual briefs” appear on every page, with a lead article including the longest (but not too long) texts.

“Our goal was to develop a new generation of newspaper for a new generation of readers. Fast, informative, entertaining and very much interactive through new journalistic elements it wants to catch the interest of people who so far took their information from other media than traditional newspapers. 24 SATA is as compact as an SMS or e-mail, as colorful as the internet and as visual as a reality show on TV,” says creator Thomas Dobernigg to describe the philosophy of the new product.

24 SATA is an investment by Styria Medien AG from Austria. New editor is Matija Babic, 27, whose website www.index.hr is the most frequently visited in Croatia. Art director is Branimir Klaric, whose background in magazine design has contributed to the look of 24 SATA. Garcia worked with his Garcia Media Europe team, based in Hamburg, led by Jan Kny as art director and Margit Meister and designer.

The initial edition will have 300,000 copies printed and distributed nationally across Croatia, a country with a population of four million.

The Mario Blog