Media Watch

Gee, what do you think about Globe's new "G"?

Boston Globe cuts 24 pages, redesigns front, adds "g"
And here what the media mavens have to say about it

First we'll bring you what media columnist and NEU prof Dan Kennedy thinks about it, and below that what Adam Reilly, the media critic at Boston Phoenix, has to say. Then we'll add our own family's reactions. The new "g" section will replace "Sidekick" and you can example the ad rates here.

Repackaging the Globe

At a time when the outlook for the newspaper industry is becoming ever grimmer, the Boston Globe today unveils a repackaging of its print edition.

It's not quite a redesign — the fonts and the basic layout remain the same. But it's been reorganized "to help you better navigate the news," editor Marty Baron writes. (No link; Baron's "To our readers" note does not seem to be online.)

We'll see about that.

My overall impression is that Baron and company have made a virtue out of necessity. That is, the print edition is shrinking, which gives the Globe an opportunity to reconfigure its sections in a way that's not unlike what its bigger cousin, the New York Times, did some years ago.

In an interview with WBUR Radio's Deb Becker, Baron says the paper will shed 24 pages a week, though he adds that the news hole will shrink by considerably less than that.

The biggest, splashiest change is the expansion of Sidekick into a daily tabloid called "g," which gathers together all of the paper's arts and entertainment coverage. I'll let others judge the execution, but overall I think it's a good idea, and you've got to love color comics. Given that the paper recently got rid of the weekly television supplement that had appeared in the Sunday Globe, it's nice to see them in "g," and in color, too. But the listings are for evenings-only. Of course, that's why God made Yahoo.

Columnist Alex Beam is showcased at the back of "g," magazine-style, opposite a photo feature called "Parting Shot," which appears not to be in the Web edition... Read the rest of Dan's column here.

And now what Adam Reilly thinks

Globe redesigns: what say you?

My initial thoughts:

--"g" actually looks good, notwithstanding some uninspired cover art. There's plenty of editorial heft inside, and the "Parting Shot" feature on the penultimate page has tons of potential. Also, let's hope the graphic accompanying Alex Beam's column is his and his alone; it's very apt.

--The revamped pics for the metro columnists? Not so hot, at least judging from Adrian Walker's. Looks like clip art.

--I was all ready to bellyache about the shorter stories in the Nation and World sections, i.e., pages A2 and A3. But then, eagle-eyed observer that I am, I noticed that while the main stories were shorter, the miniscule news nuggets that used to run on the margins have been eliminated. Now I'm not sure how feel. But I expect I'll still go elsewhere for my national- and world-news fix.

--The Globe has steadfastly refused to get specific about how much of the news hole will be lost in the redesign. A week ago, for example, Editor & Publisher's write-up included this dodge:

The Globe is saving 24 pages a week with the new section formats. Martin Baron, editor of the Globe, said while some newshole will be lost, the pages lost include house ads and event listings. [emphasis added]

That continues today, in the official explanation of the redesign on A6, which tells us that:

"The Business section, with about the same amount of news and information as before, appears inside Metro each day."

C'mon, Globe! If the reduction's minimal, no one will care; if it's not, you owe your readers the fullest possible explanation of why it's necessary. Also, dancing around the subject just makes you look silly.

Thoughts, readers?

What my wife and I tought about the newspaper redesign & "g"

The news sections and especially the front page are first rate. News and stories presented better than ever. The paper was always too loaded with wire stories which by definition we had learned about a day earlier on CNN or the web. If the missing 24 pages contained only non-Globe wire stories it's an improvement and a help with our trash collection costs.

The "g" section which we critiqued yesterday causes the most concern. Of course if the material we once looked for every Thursday in the Globe's Calendar tab section is spread over seven days, that's an asset, but Calendar was a great entertainment source which readers saved for a whole week. Twenty years ago Mary Jane Patrone (on right) wrote a great "Cheap Eats" column which is sorely needed these recessionary days.

My sons thought the color comics microscopic, although I approve. My wife and I thought the editorial content however was beyond the pale. If every edition had an Alex Beam or a Patrone-level Cheap eats, it might make the cut, but presently it's an old media's idea of a hip tab.

It isn't an exaggeration to say most of our bloggers write better and more interestingly. One can't help but be reminded of George Bernard Shaw's riposte to an aspiring playwrite, "Your work is both good and original, but the parts that are good aren't original, and the parts that are original aren't good."