The Kate Moss-ing of newspapers

Within the last week or so, a number of major newspapers have spent the money and staff time on redesigning the paper. In a few cases, the Oklahoman for one, have gone to a 44-inch web, or the approximate width of a two-page spread. Gannett is planning to move all its papers to a 44-inch web. Some papers have moved recently from 50 to 46. It wasn’t all that long ago that the 50-inch web was considered narrow!

Where will it end? Broadsheet papers have gone tabloid. Tabs have gone Berliner format (18.5 x 12 or so). There is a great little daily newspaper in North Carolina that has been ahead of the trend for years: it’s 8.5×11 (The Tryon Daily Bulletin).

All this shrinkage is creating new challenges for newspaper designers. I wonder when we will arrive back at 1-column galleys as the final product…. What will designers do then?
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Related posts:

1. Ask Dr. Design
2. The demise of newspapers
3. Gannett and newspaper design
4. What will the designer of 2015 look like?
5. Newspaper designers are dorks