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Aug. 16th Saturday follow ups on the newspaper of the future, typography and more

One of the most popular postings this week was that of TAB, the newspaper of the future created by Maggie Steber’s students at a special University of Miami class. Many of you wrote to say you were elated that students had chosen to do a “printed newspaper” for the future. So was I , believe me. Normally we see an electronic gadget or tablet as the newspaper of the future.

Maggie, however, was not the only one to be surprised by how conservative some of her students tended to be. Many of you wrote me emails to say: Is this all there is?

One such reader, from Mexico, wrote: We already have a newspaper like this in my town!

Good for you, I wrote back.

So in one of today’s sequels, Maggie Steber describes Tabala Rasa, her concept of a modern newspaper, which was the original concept when she started her class on the newspaper of the future. Read on.

Another Saturday Sequel:  Jonathan Hoefler, whose interview about typography resulted in several mails, some asking what Jonathan’s favorite websites on type were, comes back with a listing of his favorite ones. I have checked them out, and you will like them too.

MAGGIE AND TABULA RASA

After the presentation of TAB, some queries arose about an idea I mentioned
called Tabula Rasa. Here is an explanation of that idea:

Tabula Rasa is Latin and translates as new tablet or clean slate. As much
angst and wringing of the hands as is currently going on over the demise
of traditional newspapers, Tabula Rasa breaks the mold that we feel is
aiding in the decline of this medium. It offers a complete new way of thinking about newspapers and their roles, including a new look, new ideas, new content, a new newsroom structure, new ad revenue streams, collaborative promotional efforts, and a re-thinking of use of space and staff.  It encapsulates issues-oriented news
and information rather than breaking daily news (except for the big stories) and it organizes and analyzes news/info that is critical to peoples’ lives, both locally,nationally and internationally.

TR utilizes visual delivery of news and information/data in a much bigger, bolder, sophisticated way, through photography, illustration and infographics.

It does not try to be all things to all people and it does not get mired down in the “this is a family newspaper” trap.  Dangerous territory, for sure, to tread upon valued journalistic traditions but when the patient is dying, you’ll try anything. This is the time for a clean slate, a new way of thinking about newspapers.

People get information on t.v. and radio on their commutes so why use precious space and staff to print the same stories that are old by the time they are printed?  Instead take issues that are important to a community and go in depth.  Print 3 times a week instead of 7. Use staff to produce engaging and exciting projects that readers will save and make time to read. Consider the image the reader has of himself:  does the paper match that?  Make advertising work graphically by designing separate ad pages that are so out of this world that they become a topic of conversation around the water cooler and advertisers compete to outdo one another.  Make the front page too bold to pass up, using photos or illos or infographics. Don’t format the front page on a daily basis.  Surprise, delight, thrill, inform, be controversial, give readers more room for letters to the editors and involvement with the paper,  akin to citizen journalism. It makes the paper a forum for the readers to talk to one another, extremely important in this era of blogs.  Don’t only be extremely local, use the paper to make a community part of the borderless world that the internet created.

Tabula Rasa is the new American newspaper (but it can also work for foreign press).
It dispenses with the traditional newspaper model, liberates it, if you will, and is
a prototype that straddles the gulf between newspaper and internet generations.
It would only be published for a limited number of years as it lured readers to its
equally compelling website (another discussion altogether).  The critical component
in Tabula Rasa is bold leadership that is not afraid to try new things, knows its readers,  and rediscovers a sense of mission that informs on how to live in an unpredictable world.

SO, WHAT do you think of Tabula Rasa?

MAGGIE ON BIG PICTURES AND THE WEB:
Says the Mata Hari of Photography: Mario, this is how photos should appear on websites.

In her words: The Big Picture is a photo blog for the Boston Globe/boston.com, compiled semi-regularly by Alan Taylor . Inspired by publications like Life Magazine (of old), National Geographic, and online experiences like MSNBC.com’s Picture Stories galleries and Brian Storm’s MediaStorm , The Big Picture is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery - with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories and, well, just about anything that comes across the wire that looks really interesting.

Big Picture Archives:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

Amen, Maggie!

HOEFLER’S SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

Jonathan tells us that these are “ five places where I check when I need inspiration to strike”.

http://ffffound.com/
http://kottke.org/
http://acejet170.typepad.com/
http://daringfireball.net/
http://www.spd.org/

J FORD HUFFMAN ON BRANDING AND NEWSPAPER’S ONLINE EDITIONS:

J Ford writes me today that he forgot to mention the importance of “branding” when designing newspaper websites:
“To me it’s all part of the Branding buzzword:
  people can get the news anywhere but they turn to a newspaper’s Web site for news because they like and trust the newspaper, the brand.  We’re foolish not to seize the opportunity to show our brand image on the home page (and elsewhere online).“

The original blog postings for the sequels appearing here today:
http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/students_design_newspaper_of_the_future_yes_it_is_printed
http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/hoefler_a_second_golden_age_of_typography
http://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/tips_for_designing_news_online_editions

This Saturday I find myself flying from Frankfurt to Dubai, where I stay until Friday, then going home.

 

Posted by Dr. Mario R. Garcia on August 16, 2008