Yes, the daily underwent hydro-colonic therapy last night, shedding a good inch and a half from its waistline and doing away with its Metro and Business sections. The result is a cleaner, more digestible paper. But the question is, Will the makeover make the 130-year-old cougar more attractive to younger readers?
Today's paper (left) is noticeably thinner than its gordita-eating predecessor.
That depends. Does anyone under forty (save for myself) even subscribe to the paper anymore? I suspect very few.
Most the kiddies these days read the paper online, and the new format somewhat mirrors the P-D's Web site. (Indeed, the paper's new banner even plugs stltoday.com.) Headlines are bolder and more succinct, advertisements can now be found on the front page, and stories fall under more narrowly defined topics: development, science & technology, politics, public safety. In short, the paper does seem easier to browse.
Still, it's going to take awhile to get accustomed to those skinny pages. The look sort of reminds me of the Christian Science Monitor (back when there was a hard-copy Christian Science Monitor) or that other stalwart of journalism: Webster-Kirkwood Times.
Squawk: "You're as skinny as I am.
