TAKEAWAY: Finally, Next, Nigeria’s newest daily newspaper is published today after more than a year in the makings. We are proud to be a part of it: read all about it. PLUS: Pure Deisgn download: all about promos, selling those stories on Page One
Collector’s item: Front page of Volume 1, Number 1 of Nigeria’s newest daily: Next
Inside pages of today’s Next daily edition
Newspapers, like everything else, is sold in the streets of always chaotic Lagos—-a city with a peripatetic pulse which leads to enormous traffic jams which, in turn, make it easy for those newspaper-selling young guys to snake their way between lines of cars—-presenting headlines from the front page to the frustrated drivers who wait and wait for traffic to move.
Today, add one more newspaper to the mix: it is called Next.
Yes, when we first had a workshop in Lagos to plant the seed of what this new newspaper would be, we figured that it should be anything but a traditionally called name. I recall telling the group that gathered in publisher Dele Olojede’s home: “Please let’s not even include the words Times, Gazette, Telegraph, Post or Tribune.”
At the time, the group smiled and tried to humor me as I put different names on the sketch pad in front of the room. Eventually, Next was on everyone’s short list.
Next meant future. Next meant the new way of telling stories in a country where the press and the government play hide and seek often, with the press doing a lot of the hiding.
From the start, Dele Olojede, whom I first had met at Newsday (Long Island, New York), knew that he wanted Next to be revolutionary in every way: how it tells stories, how it presents photos and illustrations, how it does not sell its heart and soul to anyone or any interest group, how it introduces Nigerian to independent journalism as a way to make democracy durable and respectable.
Working with Christian Fortanet (who was art director for Garcia Media on this project), and Ron Reason (who conducted the editorial workshops to get the group of young journalists to learn everrything from deadline administration to writing headlines, summaries, and, yes, stories), we made several visits to Lagos.
Last January, the Sunday edition, Next on Sunday, was launched, getting everyone int he staff ready for the challenges of publishing a newspaper. Eight months later, and after intensive workshops, the daily is born today.
Today, Next is out as a daily.
It all began with a round of mojitos in 2008: end of our first day workshop to create the Next out in the streets today. To my left, publisher Dele Olojede; to my right, Victor Ehikhamenor, creative director
By the book: See me here conducting workshop about the rules of the game—desigh and editing guidelines
The final pep rally: Here Dele Olojede and I (right) conduct a final “let’s go get ‘em” workshop with everyone in the newsroom in Lagos
It has not been easy. It never is, to produce a new newspaper. For me personally, this is the 21st new newspaper in which I am involved. The first was Diario Catarinense (Brazil). while the last two have been Sakshi (Hyderabad, India) and Mint (Delhi, India).
Unlike redesigning of a product that already exists, a new newspaper allows the entire team to be creative without “legacies” holding anyone back. Such has been the case here. Take a look. I will try to update the blog posting throughout the week with new images.
To hear publisher Dele Olojede tell his first night impressions, after working hard to produce the first daily edition of Next:
We are excited that this day has come. Of course, nearly everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. The pre-press equipment went bunkers. In scrambling to meet our deadlines in the middle of a meltdown of the local banking industry, word came that our managing editor’s mom was involved in a serious auto accident and she had to drop everything and hurry to her mother’s side an hour’s flight to the north of Lagos. But the staff are heroic, and we’re out with the daily. We’re on our way.!”
And from Creative Director Victor Ehikhamenor:
It gets continuosly exciting, as we have crossed another major hurdle of launching a daily. We are doing what we set out to do from the onset and we have an able General, Dele Olojede, leading the troops fearlessly. When Nigerians wake up today, they will behold one of the most beautiful and truthful newspaper that has ever come out of this country in recent times.
So, it is not all about newspaper closings in the news. Some are born, like Next. It is good to be planted in the middle of the “newspaper nursery” hearing the happy cries of a new baby coming into this world in 2009. Many happy returns.
Stylistic details for Next
Typography: Verlag and Chronicle
Format: Tabloid, combining five and six column grids.
Previous blog postings about Next
or more information about Next, go here:
The official website:
www.234next.com
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/Weekend_Updates_A_visit_to_Victor_Ehikhamenors_studio/
https://www.garciamedia.com/admin/index.php?S=3d288590d403189c70a2b177e20a8bb8577a3b25&C=edit&M=edit_entry&weblog_id=6&entry_id=685
https://www.garciamedia.com/admin/index.php?S=6bed83f06c1beac7b1d0578a3c490f80481ba6b1&C=edit&M=edit_entry&weblog_id=6&entry_id=684
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/nigerias_next_on_sunday_changing_journalism_one_sunday_at_a_time/
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/next_on_sunday_the_new_newspaper_that_raises_journalistic_bar_in_nigeria/
Pure Design download: Promos on Page One
Who is Jacky?
Jacky belongs to Frank Deville. The Luxembourg-based pooch is an “avid reader” of the German newspaper, Bild Am Sonntag. Every Sunday Jacky picks stories and interesting graphics in Bild Am Sonntag , the German newspaper.
Pure Design: Download entire section: Type
Download entire first section of Pure Design: Words
Now that I have fully presented the first of six sections of Pure Design on TheMarioBlog, I am offering the entire initial section, “Words,” available for download—all 33 pages of it. This may be useful for those of you saving or printing out Pure Design and will be done following each of the remaining sections. At the end of our journey through words, type, layout, color, pictures, and process, I will publish the entirety of Pure Design in one file.
WAN’s World Trends 2009 Report
The 2009 edition of World Press Trends from WAN/IFRA is now available. I always like to review this report for its complete information on global circulation, advertising and online trends in our industry. All countries in the world where daily newspapers are published are covered in the publication.
This year the WAN/IFRA folks have decided to publish a print version but only make the book available on pdf.
Those interested go:
http://www.wan-press.org/forms/wpt2009.html
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Follow Mario Jr. and his blog about media analysis, web design and assorted topics related to the current state of our industry.
http://garciainteractive.com/
Visit Mario Sr. daily here, or through TweetsByDesign (www.twitter.com/tweetsbydesign)
In Spanish daily: The Rodrigo Fino blog
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To read TheRodrigoFino blog, in Spanish, go:
https://garciamedia.com/latinamerica/blog/
TheMarioBlog posting #334