Archive for April, 2009

Shawn McIntosh, Public editor

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Just a quick note to update you. We are listening, both here and in other forums, to your suggestions and criticisms. And we’re responding. We’ve already made some adjustments and more will be coming.

The type on today’s front page is aired out a bit and we think it improves the readability. Take a look and let us know if you agree.

I’m not a color expert but even I can see we’re having some inking problems on the new recycled paper. We’re working on that. The color pictures are crisper today, but the black and white photos still look muddy. So look for improvements to come.

Vent fans, we hope you noticed we improved the spacing, restored bold lede-ins and added weight to the type. Weather junkies, we’ve heard you and will be making some adjustments to the weather page.

Your comments, e-mails and calls are helpful so …

Continue reading Keep talking; we’re listening »

Julia Wallace, Editor

For all of you who took the time to post here or write or call or otherwise contact us about the redesign, thanks for all the feedback.

We got some cheers and more than a few complaints. That’s not unexpected when you change something as personal and habitual as a newspaper. And it’s certainly not unexpected that our request for feedback would draw far more negative comments than positive. We don’t expect to hear as much from folks who like the changes or approve of the newspaper; those who are satisfied are often less vocal.

Specific criticism is most helpful to us. For example, many readers had concerns about readability and typography that we think can be addressed. The main body type is not actually smaller; it appears the same size as before and larger than many American newspapers. But the font is more dense and we’re looking at the weight and inking and factors that may improve readability.

We’ll be making adjustments as appropriate in the days …

Continue reading Thanks for all the feedback »

Julia Wallace, Editor

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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 …

Continue reading A letter from the editor — to our print readers »

Shawn McIntosh, Public editor

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The new AJC launches this week. It’s better organized and easier to navigate. We built it with the knowledge that many readers have a routine, an individualized approach to reading the newspaper, and they like consistency.

Editor Julia Wallace discusses some of the research for the new AJC in this video.

As Julia notes, many readers have a different routine for daily and Sunday. Some read the paper all seven days while others view ajc.com during the week but still enjoy relaxing with the Sunday newspaper.

My weekend routine: I sort and separate the sections at the dining room table, (and yes, find the TVWeekly and put it by the TV) while the coffee’s brewing. Then I curl up in my favorite chair and start reading. And my old Lab settles herself at my feet. Pretty comfy.

What’s your approach? Do you have a Sunday or daily …

Continue reading How do you read the daily and Sunday newspaper? »

Bert Roughton, Managing editor

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When I was a kid, I used to awaken before dawn and roll copies of the Dallas Morning News into tight batons that would fit into the white canvas saddlebags that draped across the frame of my Stingray bike. Then I peddled through my still dark neighborhood, admiring my own skill at tossing the papers to the edges if not the surfaces of porches, which were left lit by thoughtful subscribers eager to improve my aim.
The daily paper made a satisfying slap on the concrete, often the only sound I could hear at that time of day.
It was different for the Sunday paper, with all its heft and mass. It was too big to throw, so I had to carry each one like a newborn to the doorstep. And I tended to deliver it late because I would become lost in turning its pages, its pictures and stories carrying me away.

Forty years later, the paper …

Continue reading An old friend changes — for the good! »

Shawn McIntosh, Public editor

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This week I became the AJC’s new public editor. Let me introduce myself and my role.

I’m a career newswoman who has worked at newspapers all over the South. I once worked in a nice office overlooking the Potomac, but my accent just didn’t fit in. Atlanta is my favorite home so far.

I have a passion for news and believe the watchdog role newspapers play is vital to democracy. It is the reason the Founding Fathers protected the independence of a free press. Now that the press has gone digital, and a multi-million-dollar warehouse of steel is not required to publish, audiences have more opportunity than ever to shape journalism. Every connected citizen can contribute to news coverage and participate in community conversation. I …

Continue reading Greetings from the new public editor »

Julia Wallace, Editor

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Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes, Inc., was at a Rotary meeting here the other day talking about what he believes is needed to turn the economy around.

A question from the audience: What’s going to happen to newspapers? The questioner noted that some have closed around the country, newspaper companies have filed bankruptcy and some newspapers have reduced publication days.

Forbes was generally positive – saying that newspapers provide great value, but the Internet had changed everything including the business model. To succeed, he said, newspapers must go through a process of “creative destruction.”

As the editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I am living the process Forbes described, and it is bittersweet. This week, we reduced the size of the newsroom by one-third. Some very long-time colleagues will be leaving us this month. It is …

Continue reading Get ready for changes April 28 »

The AJC’s new full-time conservative columnist, Kyle Wingfield, is still a few weeks away from writing his first column in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He’s an editorial writer crafting conservative opinions for The Wall Street Journal’s European edition. But he already knows Georgia well. Afterall, he grew up in Dalton, has family here and was a standout student at UGA. He’s got plenty of ideas for columns, but feel free to share your thoughts here about issues Kyle might address that are important in Georgia.

Continue reading Share ideas for the AJC’s new conservative columnist »