N.Y. publisher talks about dailies' redesign project

The Herkimer (N.Y) Telegram and Little Falls (N.Y.) Evening Times recently launched new designs as part of the GateHouse News & Interactive incubator program. News & Interactive worked with editor Lorraine Heath and her staff in the Herkimer newsroom on the project.

Here are some thoughts from publisher Beth Brewer on the process, and below are some page and feature examples.

Why did you decide to redesign?
 
The papers have had the same look and feel for the past 20 years. Frankly, they were getting stale and old. We need to move away from pages of “gray” copy. Stories were too long and it felt like we were losing the interest of our readers and the ability to pull in younger readers. We wanted quick entry points for our readers and repackaged the newspapers to have more locally generated copy and photos.

What can you tell us about your community?
 
Both the Herkimer and Little Falls communities are steeped in tradition. They are an older community that does not react well to change. There is much history here in the Mohawk Valley, and folks here take pride in that history. They take pride in helping friends and neighbors. This is truly “Hometown U.S.A.”

What changes did you make as part of the redesign?
 
Each publication has a more contemporary look and feel. We added more process color to the front pages, added sky boxes, completely changed the mast head and font style and added rails for better presentation of news briefs. The front page of both papers now include a “Smile of the Day” and “Kid of the day”. Q&A’s with newsmakers are now part of our centerpiece planning each week. Our inside pages were completely reworked to include shorter stories, reader submitted photos and state news, which includes a regional spotting map. Our themed daily pages also include profiles and Q&A’s. The sports pages now have rails, shorter stories with more interest, and more photos. The sports agate is presented in a cleaner, easier format. The Opinion page now will include weekly editorials from our newsroom. Online poll results and a weekly poll question is also being included on the Opinion page in efforts to bridge both web and print together. Online comments will also be included.
 
Basically, we are trying to drive more reader interaction to the newspapers via locally submitted columnists, reader submitted photos, online comments and through our own “refocus” to local faces, places names and news. Internally, it forced us to become much more regimented with newsroom planning.

How have readers reacted to the redesign?
 
Overall, the feedback has been pretty positive for our first week and a half. Folks are liking the new look and format. We have heard things like it's "easier to read" … "we like that we getting more photos and larger photos” … "it’s about time!" … "nice, modern look."
 
Of course, with change comes some negatives from our older readers who thought nothing was wrong with the old format. They just don’t like the change. But, I would say overall, this has been very positive for us so far.
 
What advice do you have for papers considering a redesign?
 
Planning is key for this process. The publisher and editors really have to remain in sync with how this project gets rolled out to staff and readers. You must make sure a new culture is developed in the newsroom and planning becomes part of the ongoing newsroom operations. Really think about your end goal and what it is you want to see done differently in your newspaper. It’s not just about a “new look.” It really is about planning, providing shorter stories and more of them, involving community and driving reader participation.