According to an article I read in The Times on friday (incidentally my apologies for the lack of updates over the weekend - no internet access at my house in Rowhedge) my favourite newspaper will be publishing two editions in London on wednesday. One Broadsheet and one Tabloid sized.
The move follows The Independent's crossing into dual-format printing. The smaller, commuter-friendly edition of The Independent has been available in London since the end of September and it has gotten quite a decent reception.
I'm of two minds concerning the move to print a tabloid format edition.
First I am a dreadful example of the ancient adage "fools rush in". Generally upon being presented with something new my youthful enthusiasm kicks in and I eagerly race to embrace it, occasionally with less than stellar results (my purchase of OS 10.0 for instance). My natural first thought would be "I'll give it a try".
In additional support of the "pro-tabloid" camp I have my happy experience with the inaugural editions of iMail in Hong Kong (shortly before said publication dropped to a standard so pitiful that not even the appalling lack of decent journalism in Hong Kong could motivate me to buy it). It was pretty cool to have a small manageable paper that you could read outside in the sub-tropical humidity of Hong Kong .
However on the other hand, I derive considerable pleasure from opening up the large leaves of The Times, one leg draped gracefully over the other in emulation of some Woodhousian gentleman laid out on a sofa in an elegant Hotel's lobby, the very picture of a colonial Englishman. There's something rich about the size of a broadsheet, your eyes do not so much dart about the page like the flitting attentions of a suitably skittish insect, passing from one light to another, you instead turn your whole attention to the other part of the page as if panning across some vast continent of sumptuous type-font.
Despite its size, reading on the Tube is a simple art to perfect. If practiced well, rather than inhibiting your neighbor's freedom of movement you invite the fellow to indulge in some other part of the page from his vantage point atop your shoulder.
So in conclusion I shall probably buy a copy of The Times in tabloid form on Wednesday. Why not? I might as well test it out at least, given that the entire product has been engineered for my delectation (I am after all a commuter-consumer and therefore a principle part of it's demographic of appeal).
Still, I feel that it will take rather a lot for me to surrender my romantic view of the newspaper I so cherish. I suspect that in spite of my initial enthusiasm, I will not be one of the converted.
(PS: Today's snapshot is a picture of my little sister, Francesca offering me a salutation of sorts :) )
Later
John
Hm. The tabloid-sized version does seem like a practical idea, but I agree with you that there is something about the broadsheets that's... nice, for want of a better word. They always make me think of a "proper" father figure, pipe and slippers reading the paper before the fire.
Unfortunately, up here in the wilds of Scotland, we are not nearly as cosmopolitan as you, and only get The Sunday Times, but I like to spread out the News Review section on the floor of a Sunday afternoon and work through methodically reading each piece.
Hopefully, the broadsheets wont adopt other tabloid traditions as well. I'd hate to think who'd be on page 3 of The Times.
Posted by: Beth Lloyd at November 24, 2003 01:25 AMYeah,
Ironically the Sunday Times is the one I rarely get, not for want of trying you understand. It's always sold out. Cuuuurses
Posted by: Johnlouis Swaine at November 24, 2003 05:43 PM