Saturday, May 02, 2009

Atlanta Journal-Constitution unveils AJC Sunday

From Shawn McIntosh, AJC public editor:

The new Sunday AJC debuts this weekend, packed with in-depth local content. The new Sunday mission includes explaining the “why” behind the week’s headlines, holding officials accountable with more watchdog reporting, providing an in-depth cover story in every section and providing readers with a relaxing weekend experience.

This Sunday’s newspaper delivers on that promise.


Check out the AJC's new interactive site for ajcSunday at http://media.ajc.com/unplugsunday.

You can watch the TV ads and other parts of the Atlanta marketing campaign at http://media.ajc.com/unplugcampaign/tv.html.

Now, for the pages (click on the image for a closer look):

A3



A1

A2

B1


B8 (Part of the new "Community News" pages)

C1


D1
D2


E1
E12
E16
E22

Editors have been talking with readers online all week at http://www.ajc.com/conversation.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

New daily Atlanta Journal-Constitution debuts

After two years of research and development — focus groups and online communities with thousands of readers — the Atlanta Journal-Constitution launched the first part of its transformative redesign today. Not just a new look, the paper has reorganized the newsroom, reallocated resources and rethought how the print product should work for readers who love newspapers. Here’s a glance at today's new daily AJC, compared with pages from Monday and April 27, 2008. We’ll show pages from the new AJC Sunday on May 3. (Click on the images for a closer look.)








From AJC Editor Julia Wallace:

Print is a powerful medium. We know that more and more people are getting their information in a digital format. But we also know that many still love and enjoy reading a newspaper.

Nearly two years ago, we set out to chart a course for the future. As information habits changed and more of our print audience shifted to the Internet, we knew the status quo was not an option. A struggling economy only added to the challenge before us.

We thought the best answers would come from our readers. We talked to thousands of them. They guided us to the new product you’re holding in your hands today.

This daily newspaper is one designed for newspaper readers. For years our industry has chased those elusive nonreaders. Our market research led us down a different path. What we’d have to do to win over those nonreaders risked driving away our core readers. We believe we can thrive by increasing the satisfaction of those who already engage with us regularly. So … you see a newspaper that looks and reads very much like a newspaper.

We’ve invested millions in press upgrades, more color and a more newsy, sophisticated look. We hired an award-winning design firm, Lacava Design, from Montreal to help us create a newspaper that is easy to use and filled with information.

Also along the way, we found ways to do things more efficiently. Our reader feedback proved valuable when economic necessities forced us to scale back plans and coverage. It was our readers who helped us set priorities for what to keep and what could be sacrificed.
We’ve already rolled out most of the content changes the last few months. Today’s print redesign is the culmination of a lot of hard, sometimes painful work that at its heart reflects the optimism and dedication to a long and prosperous future in this community.



What’s the overall design philosophy?
The new look could be called “Modern Classic.” It plays off the best of traditional newspapers, but with a modern, more colorful feel. What you’ll see is a newspaper that has been built with our readers and advertisers in mind. The AJC will be a newspaper for newspaper readers, those with a true affinity for print. The new design balances their needs with the efficiencies we need.

Will the daily and Sunday newspapers look different?
Yes, slightly. We know that readers use the paper differently on weekdays and Sundays. Our new design offers a sweep of news and topics quickly on weekdays when readers are busy. On Sunday, it has a more relaxed look that invites readers to settle in and spend some time with the newspaper.

Did you change the fonts?
Yes. We’ve simplified our typography, taking our cues from classic American and European newspapers. The primary font, Publico, customized for the AJC by Christian Schwartz, is exceptionally readable and easy on the eyes at all sizes. It is named for the Lisbon, Portugal, newspaper that first used it. Our secondary font, Boomer, is used for information boxes, photo captions and calendars. It was originally developed for AARP.

Is the newspaper smaller?
Yes. The redesigned AJC is narrower, printed with soy ink on 100 percent recycled paper. Many American newspapers have narrowed their formats in recent years. The new pages are more compact, but because of denser layout and improved typography, content is not sacrificed. It saves trees and reduces one of our largest business costs.

Who did the redesign?
An in-house team that is led by product design chief Will Alford collaborated with Montreal-based Lucie Lacava, a celebrated designer of more than 60 publications across North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.

When was the AJC last redesigned?

Changes are nothing new for newspapers. Most go through a facelift about every five years. The most recent comprehensive redesign of the AJC occurred in 1999.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Atlanta Journal-Constitution redesign launches tomorrow


Find a sneak peek of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's redesign that launches tomorrow (Tuesday, April 28) at http://www.ajcsundaysneakpeek.com and also at http://www.youraudiencedelivered.com.

The AJC 2.0 redesign crew, led by design chief Will Alford, worked with Lucie Lacava of Lacava Inc. See what AJC newsroom leaders have to say and what questions readers are already asking at http://www.ajc.com/conversation.

Editor Julia Wallace will be blogging about the redesign and taking questions there Tuesday, April 28. Alford will be online Wednesday, April 29, and Lacava will be blogging Monday, May 4.

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Check back here and at http://www.lacavadesign.ca tomorrow morning to see the new look as the redesign goes live and to get a closer view of the changes.

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Some of the previews the AJC has been running recently in the newspaper:


Sunday, April 26: "Delivering for our readers"

It’s Sunday. If you are like many of the readers we have listened to over the past 18 months, you have a little more time to spend with the newspaper today than you do on other days. And you expect a little something more and different from your Sunday paper.

As we have worked to make sure the newspaper meets the key needs of our readers, many told us of their rituals with the Sunday newspaper: how many cups of coffee they drink while reading; where they like to sit (den, kitchen table, porch); how the sections get divided among family members. They look to us to recap and explain the week’s events, let them know what’s coming up and help them save time and money.

For many readers, the newspaper reading experience is different during the week. They are time-pressed and want a broad sweep of the news fast, before they dash out the door and into the busy world. Others like to keep up with the news online and rely on ajc.com on weekdays; but enjoy the Sunday newspaper.

In every way possible, we’ve kept these differences in mind as we have set about to build smarter, more efficient news sources for you.

Throughout the process of reviewing and then improving, we have had to balance what readers want with current economic realities. While we can’t deliver everything readers say they want, we have preserved those things readers say they value most.

You’ve already seen many of the changes, from our new format and logo on ajc.com to several new features in the newspaper.

On Tuesday, we will debut an all new look for the daily newspaper and on Sunday, we will debut the new Sunday design. Let us know what you think. We want to keep the conversation with readers going.

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Monday, April 27: "What to look for in Tuesday's newspaper"

News you want: We will continue to bring you the latest in international, national and local news. Our sections — Metro, Sports and Living —have been designed so you can find your favorite features and stories faster.

Watchdog: Readers have told us that they want us to hold public leaders accountable for their actions, so we will continue to monitor how government is working — or not working — and present the information in a way that’s timely and easy to understand. One of your favorite features, Take to Task, is still in the Metro section and still helping you cut through local government red tape.

Easy to find: Navigate to the information you want with color-coded sections, at-a-glance headlines and consistent, clear organization.

More color: We’ve invested in our future with significant upgrades to our presses in Gwinnett County. This gives us the capacity for more color on news and advertising pages. Each section of the redesigned AJC is color-coded, which helps readers navigate the pages to find what they want to read.

Easy to read: We’ve simplified our typography, taking cues from classic American and European newspapers. The primary font, Publico, customized for the AJC by typographer Christian Schwartz, is exceptionally readable and easy on the eyes at all sizes. More straightforward headlines help readers scan stories and absorb more information. And no, we have not shrunk the type!



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Follow Region3

Keep up with SND Region 3 events and industry news on Facebook with the SND Region 3 group or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sndregion3.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Region 3 moving / shaking.

There have been several member moves in Region 3 lately!

This just in from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's design director, Paul Wallen:
I'm very excited to announce yet another terrific addition to our visuals team!
Nuri Ducassi will be joining us in mid-June as Features Design Director.
Nuri is currently the Design Director at the Montreal Gazette, where she's responsible for the overall presentation of the paper. She led a total redesign of the Gazette in 2006 and her staff to 33 SND awards over three years.
Widely recognized as one of the best designers, illustrators and teachers in the country, Nuri has an incredible track record of success at the San Jose Mercury News, Hartford Courant and Miami Herald. She has been a visiting faculty member at Northwestern University, Poynter Institute and American Press Institute. In 2006, she was an SND World's Best judge for the 28th edition.
In taking this position, Nuri returns to her "roots" in several ways. Professionally, she will get to focus on her first love - features design. Personally, she is coming home to South Florida, where she has family and many friends.
Nuri will be relocating from Quebec, along with her partner Nauret, three dogs (Barolo aka Pablit, Frederika aka Fritzi, Paco aka Puki aka Bebe) and two cats.
I expect Nuri's talent, energy and infectious personality to make a big impact and help us elevate even further what we do on a daily basis.
Please join me in giving Nuri a warm Sun-Sentinel welcome!
You can find some examples of Nuri's Miami work at NPD.

The Sun-Sentinel also recently hired Tim Ball as Sports Design Director. Catch the details here and his portfolio on NPD.

AND Kevin Wendt, an Assistant Managing Editor at the San Jose Mercury News, will become the editor of the Huntsville Times in Huntsville, Ala. You can read all about it at SND Update.


Congratulations to Nuri, Tim, the Sun-Sentinel, Kevin and the Huntsville Times on some exciting moves! Welcome to Region 3!