Mark Porter

Here’s an extended version of my second column for Internazionale, about design in elite newspapers.

The short word count of these columns means that there’s only really space to raise a single idea, so I’ve fleshed it out a bit from the printed version, but theres still lots more to say.

And incidentally I ‘m deliberately leaving the Guardian out of this discussion, as its always been a maverick. A regional paper which became a national and an early adopter of contremporary design, it has never been a traditional classic newspaper.

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In recent weeks, two of the most prestigious newspapers in Europe have made design innovations.

The Times of London redesigned all its Saturday sections to feel more like a magazine than a traditional newspaper. And Le Monde of Paris launched a mini-redesign which mixes text-heavy news pages with giant headlines, bold use of photography and graphics, and promotional trails at the top of the front page. Both are pretty good in parts. But both would probably now be unrecognisable to readers of the same papers twenty years ago.

Intelligent, upmarket newspapers used to be identifiable by their small headlines, restrained use of pictures, and pages full of text. The form reflected the content, and often the typographic eccentricities of the country and language.

In the last two decades, opportunities (better colour printing), and more importantly threats (declining circulation and advertising revenues), have led even the most serious papers to modernise, usually citing the need to attract more young readers and female readers.

In most cases, this is a no-brainer. The culture changes, reading habits follow, and the media has to adapt. Very few newspapers have been unaffected. Even the ultra-conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung redesigned in 2007, and now has a colour photo on the front page every day (there were only five between 1989 and the redesign – the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, 911, the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of his successor Benedict XVI).

Two great newspapers have resisted the trend more than most. The New York Times is a very forward-looking and digitally savvy organisation. It also publishes some very sophisticated sections and magazines. But they are wrapped inside a news section which, despite some fine tuning, is still typographically in the Citizen Kane era. And the Neue Zürcher Zeitung from Switzerland continues doggedly with a design which is more or less unchanged since 1947.

Papers like these can sometimes feel like magnificent dinosaurs lumbering towards extinction. But resistance to change might soon start to look like an interesting strategy, in print at least.

It’s tough to acknowledge that printed papers will never again be the cash cows they have been in the past. But this may also relieve them of the burden of chasing an ever-diminishing number of readers. A paper which overtly preserves the values of traditional journalism might form a solid foundation for a media brand which chooses to pursue innovation (and revenues) in digital channels.

In the future, serious newspapers might become expensive small-circulation products for an elite older readership. And as the battle for younger readers moves online, a beautifully preserved typographic structure may — like a historic building — be an appealling destination for those who love the archaic medium of print.

This does not mean that historic newspapers should never change. But when they do, they should be aware that a sense of history and tradition can be a valuable thing in the modern world.