Wisconsin State Journal Sadly Becomes Another USA Today
How else could anyone describe the new look of the Wisconsin State Journal than to say it resembles USA Today? I knew there was changes in store for the paper as the editor, Ellen Foley, had alerted readers recently that the paper would be different. But there is ‘different’, and then there is ‘bad’.
Now I am not against change when it comes to newspapers. I am in fact eager for new energy and ideas for the newspaper industry in order to insure that one of my daily habits is not something relegated to history. It is because that I love newspapers in general that I found myself cringing at the sight of the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday.
First there are far too many varying font sizes in the newspaper. Good Lord! One has to wonder who actually was involved in the ‘focus groups’ that thought this idea was a sure-fire way to improve readership. I am not one who picks up the paper to be entertained. I want to be informed. So not only was the paper not eye appealing today, in fact is was in some ways hard to read.
More importantly the newspaper also lacks substance. This is not a new problem to be sure. ‘Names and Faces’ on page two should be jettisoned! Fact is that page two of the paper has long been a mystery. What demographics are they printing the paper for in a city where state government and a highly respected university reside? One has to wonder.
The idea that the front page of Mondays newspaper should be the place for an article on how to combat mold in your home is shocking when you consider all the stories that are out there to be covered in our city and state And Monday’s paper is not an isolated example. The front page of the newspaper should have the latest breaking news. Period.
Not for the first time do I slam the idea that online readers to the Wisconsin State Journal select from among five stories, the top voted selection getting a place on the front page of the next paper. I guess I have this old-fashioned notion that perhaps the editors of the paper might actually place the most important news stories on the front page! Not some contrived flimsy fluff pieces.
Note to Ellen Foley, publishing the news should not be a popularity contest. Bottom line for the paper is that there needs to be more serious journalism. Or is Ellen Foley allergic to a newspaper with more journalistic heft?
I do not wish to be too rough on Foley as I know she has a hard job in the newpaper world. And I understand that she is a very nice person to know. But still…..
My thoughts about the journalistic problems with the State Journal are not new. That is why I read the paper elsewhere, and will not buy it for home delivery. But I yearn for a solid morning paper in the city again. I recall there was a time when the paper was still worth a subscription.
Technorati Tags: WisconsinStateJournal, EllenFoley, Madison, Newspapers, Wisconsin, USAToday
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Try the Green Bay Press Gazette, for generic soft news.
It’s owned by the USA Today owners, and offers little substance locally.
An article blames black youth for communication problems with police.
It’s another blame the victim ploy by this John Brich-esque rag.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080111/GPG0101/801110672/1978
Not one word about the police, learning to communicate with kids…nope it’s all the black kids fault.
Adapt to the police way, or else.
Not “USA Today,” just cheap . . .
I was surprised by how cheap the new design looked. It reminded me not of USA Today but of a homemade “newspaper” the kids make on the computer and produce on a cheap color copier. Or like a really low-end free paper that’s about to go out of business for lack of funds. Sorry to hear time and money went into this — really amateur hour in appearance
As usual, I guess I’m in the minority.
I thought the visual changes were positive. It did not remind me of USAToday, which is far blander. Sections of it reminded me of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Chicago Tribune.
I agree that the State Journal is far from perfect, but having lived in several other cities, I appreciate what it does do well, which is a lot. I have read papers in many cities of comparative size to Madison where their idea of editing is…cutting off the story when they run out of room. (Midsentence.)
My main issue with the paper at the moment is that they rely on wire content in places where local content, or local interpretation of content, would be more beneficial. I am also not a fan of the “pick the best story” feature. And I wish that there would be more of a way to transition the array of opinions that happens in the forums into the paper.
Oh, where do I begin?
Well, it sure is good to know that I am a nice person to know! That made my day. Thank you, blogmaster.
OK, I’ll take the bait.
Our job as WSJ editors was to revamp a newspaper that helps the busy readers of the Madison area make sense of their world. As a broad audience publication, we have a mission to help the traditional reader, such as the keeper of this blog, and the marginal readers, who are mostly younger people who work at the State Capitol and attend, teach and administrate at the UW-Madison. So it ain’t easy to please all of the people all of the time.
Using some of the techniques that USA Today has used, such as color headers, to help busy people navigate the paper was a smart choice by our design gurus. Clustering content in places where readers can find it reliably was also a very good idea. Changing the fonts to a more readable and bold type also enhances our newsier approach in our trend stories, watchdog stories and analyses. Giving younger and female readers content, such as Page Two, that offers them an entertaining break in their hectic days, has also been very popular.
I know traditionalist don’t like it. For them, we have developed the In-depth page and meaty summaries of national and international news. We brought back food and cooking coverage. We are working very hard to put sharper edges on our news stories.
Modern newspapers gave up being the breaking news franchise in about 2001. 9/11 was a defining moment for me. By the time we give our readers our latest available stories at 1 a.m. on most days, the other media on cable, televison, radio and the Internet will have had those stories for hours. So our strategy is to break news in our paper in a second-day way and to post bulletins on our website for the true breaking news.
We also are having a blast using the new tools of the digital frontier to tell stories in very evocative ways. Check out our Hip Hop 101 or our Devil’s Lake feature. Again, we know you traditionalists do not care. We know you want us to be stenographers for the commissions and city council and legislature and the school board. While that turns on government groupies, research tells us it turns off the great majority of readers and sends them to junk TV, catalogs, and even soup can labels. In the end, it will deter civic engagement because readers will stop taking in any information about community issues.
I, like many other editors of larger papers, are managing a transition of local news coverage from the ink-on-paper channel to an Internet channel. The ink-on-paper technology is very good and I don’t see it disappearing for a long time. But I do see a moment in the next five years or so when the under-30 generation (and there are 82 million of them!) will rarely read a newspaper and will instead get their news on their phone or some other brilliant device that has not even been invented. As a journalist, I really don’t care if our work at community building and truth telling is read on paper or via cellphone. I want to make sure that all ages have a comfortable way of taking in and absorbing information. I want to make sure that our journalists — YOUR journalists — can nimbly figure out how to get information to the community in a way that makes it relevant and easy to use.
Are we tweaking the changes that we made this week? You betcha. (The biggest complaint BY FAR has to do with the spacing in Cryptoquote.) Will we have made some mistakes that we need to change? Count on it! We are adept at change over here near the Fish Hatching. We appreciate any suggestions.
I’ve written lots about this in the past three years and you can find that at http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/column/foley//index.php?ntid=265708&ntpid=1.
I also am blogging and you can find that at http://www.madison.com/wsj/blogs/inciteful/index.php?ntid=265941&ntpid=1.
Best, Ellen
I was so thankful that the article on mold was on the front page of the paper. This is a silent killer that is destroying the health of many people…including me. If that article was not on the front page I would not have grabbed the paper and gotten vital information to help us remedy a mold problem we are having in a public building. The Journal editors are ahead of their time making this front page news.
Another USA Today, meaning a daily circulation of 2.25 million?
I know what you mean, but as a newspaper guy myself, I’m fascinated at how you — and others — use “USA Today” pejoratively in describing the State Journal’s redesign. USA Today is a staggeringly successful newspaper. (I also happen to think it’s not such a bad read.)
We agree with you on this one–110%!!