TAKEAWAY: It is another launch for an American City Business Journals newspaper as Project Pinstripe continues. This time it is the Washington Business Journal that introduces changes in storytelling, brand unification and look & feel.
Here is the new front page of the Washington Business Journal
Here is the front page before the rethinking that was introduced this past week
Before and after versions of the Washington Business Journal front pages
The cover story develops over two pages inside
Profiles: emphasis on people and in-depth interviews
“Breaking Ground”: a “reporter’s page,” focusing on the deep knowledge and personalities of the Business Journal’s reporters
People on the Move: one of the best read sections
All of the ACBJ newspapers are well known for their all-inclusive lists, which received a new visual treatment making them easier to navigate.
It is the first day introducing all the changes, so here is the readers’ guide.
It is a second launch for an American City Business Journals newspaper as Project Pinstripe continues.
Readers of TheMarioBlog may recall that we at Garcia Media have been involved for a year now on a total rethink of how the 40 business weeklies of ACBJ present economic/financial news that is very local, timely, and, critically, that adapts to the new digital era.
The first of the 40 newspapers to roll out its new look and rethinking was the Silicon Valley Business Journal, of San Jose, California.
This week, the second of the weeklies has premiered the new thinking, based on what Project Pinstripe (referred to as such because of the pinstripes that are part of the new logo system) is all about. Each platform does what it can do best (a digital-first philosophy for publishing). The new print edition focuses on a more analytical centerpiece that takes the top news of the week beyond the headline and traditional who-what-where-when-why.
Reed Reibstein and I at Garcia Media have worked closely with the ACBJ team, including Emory Thomas, chief content officer for American City Business Journals and creative director Jon Wile. Over the course of a year, and a half-dozen workshops, we have discussed and experimented with how to implement the digital-first concept.
“We have totally re-imagined how we deliver local business news. Our newspaper, website, mobile and tablet editions work in concert to give you news you want, when you want it, how you want it. We like to call it “Intelligence for Washington’s Capitalists,” says publisher Alex Orfinger. “It’s no longer about just telling a business story. It’s about having a conversation face-to-face and over social media. We’re giving you unparalleled access to our reporters and editors, so you can tell us what stories matter to you and we can stay ahead of the competition together.”
One remarkable element of these projects is that it is part of a strategy to unify the ACBJ brand. The idea is to offer a common journalistic/storytelling perspective, as well as a look & feel that, while allowing for the unique history and geography of each title, imparts a sense of continuity across them all.
“Throughout the country, our newsrooms are putting the model to work with success. Now we have two markets — Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., that have tied the concept together with our full new branding and design, with other markets to follow soon,” says Emory Thomas.
Essential, common principles apply to all the newspapers in the group
Based on this philosophy, our work with the ACBJ and the Washington Business Journal has applied strategies that will make it easier for readers to navigate, starting on Page One. While this is a major visual rethinking of the newspaper, featuring new typography, page architectures and color palettes, the real changes are in the ways storytelling is approached, especially in the use of graphics that will facilitate understanding of major stories.
To hear Emory Thomas explain it:
At ACBJ, we have put together a comprehensive model for publishing across today’s many platforms. A key part of our model is about emphasizing and prioritizing digital excellence, even as we, perhaps counter-intuitively, reinvest in our print product at the same time. What we’ve put together is very detailed, and quite company-specific — and it positions us for graceful and flexible transitions as our audience needs rapidly evolve.
And publisher Alex Orfinger expands on this point:
Our transformation began with a simple question from our parent company, American City Business Journals: If we were to create a Business Journal today, how would it look? We started with our readers — and our nonreaders and former readers. We held focus groups in Washington and other cities. What we found: Our audience wants more news, more often and in more places. You want more perspective and analysis.
It’s also about brand continuity
Brand continuity as shown thru the front pages of the Silicon Valley Business Journal and the Washington Business Journal. Publishers have the option of using the pinstripe logo in either sapphire blue, ruby red, or emerald green.
Jon Wile, creative director for the ACBJ group, works closely with the editors and design team for each of the titles. Here are some of his thoughts:
The key to this whole project is to become better story-tellers, regardless of platform. We’ve been training all our papers at ACBJ on content changes for more than six months, therefore the redesign has become the “bow on top of the package,” as I’ve often called it. It’s much easier to flip the design into our new model if the content is where we want it to be.
The beauty of Washington’s centerpiece is the planning and thought they put into it ahead of time. The headline, illustration and story work in unison because the reporter, editors and art director brainstormed the story together before the reporting process was too far along. Our papers will always react to news when it happens, but it’s nice to work on these larger packages ahead of time to fill in the gaps between big news events.
It’s worth noting that the Washington Business Journal upgraded its paper stock to a thicker, whiter paper (35 pound, 80 bright).
“I think this is a nice dovetail to show that we aren’t abandoning print as we shift toward becoming a digital-first media company,” Jon Wile added.
Douglas Fruehling is Editor-in-Chief; Alex Orfinger is publisher of the Washington Business Journal.
What’s next for ACBJ launches of Project Pinstripe?
Next week (June 17-21), the Cincinnati Business Courier will be the third of the ACBJ titles to launch with the new design, followed by the Philadelphia Business Journal the week after (June 24-28).
Previously about American City Business Journal:
The design of the Silicon Valley Business Journal, from prototype to reality
Silicon Valley Business Journal: Creating the ultimate multi-platform operation
Lessons learned from Silicon Valley, and a look at some details of SVBJ
Reporting from South Africa this week
I am in Johannesburg this week as we continue to work with the team of The Citizen in the rethinking of their entire operation, leading to a media quartet of smartphone, online, print and tablet, all with a new way of storytelling, look & feel. Stay tuned this week for more reports from South Africa.