The Mario Blog

10.13.2009—11am    Post #759
Final Pure Design download: 10 Myths about Newspaper Design

TAKEAWAY: This is the final installment from my 2002 book Pure Design: The 10 Myths of Newspaper Design. We add two new ones here.

TAKEAWAY: This is the final installment from my 2002 book Pure Design: The 10 Myths of Newspaper Design. We add two new ones here.

They continue to be nothing more than myths

Those myths are as good today as they were in 2002. The only difference: today, the industry has bigger and more dramatic issues to worry about.

UPDATE: These are two new myths that I hope we will pay attention to:

New myth one: Redesign the newspaper and suddenly readers will come back and circulation will drive up.

Not true at all. Good redesigns do enhance content packaging, navigation and improve the product overall. However, a redesign is no panacea for poor content, outdated sectioning, and, more importantly, not facing up to the presence of the Internet and how it has affected the way people consume information.

New myth two: Bring an office space planner in, tear down the walls in the newsroom, and, presto, convergence thinking begins to take place.

Not true at all. I have visited many newsrooms worldwide where the architectural initiative was far ahead of the shift in editorial mentality. Result? A very open newsroom, physically speaking, but it was business as usual when it came to letting the platforms determine how information is presented.

Strategies for print survival?

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A new report from Booz & Co. outlines the four key strategies print media needs to adopt to ensure their long term survival. The four mentioned strategies are:

One: To develop deeper relationships with readers around targeted interest areas.

Second: To tap into revenue streams beyond advertising and circulation.

Third: To reinvent the content delivery model (with a particular focus on lowering costs) and to emphasize a “profitable core” of unique and
brand-defining material.

Fourth: To innovate with new products and pricing models.

I recommend the report, especially for those newspaper companies now embarking into projects to rethink their product for the future. Many good ideas presented here.

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