Broadsheet bad
May 19th, 2008
When I give talks about the Guardian redesign I usually touch on the fact that a lot of our readers are in urban centres and use public transport, which was a strong factor in leading us to question the broadsheet format. Laura Holder of wsj.com has just sent me these pictures of an anonymous Wall Street Journal reader on the NY subway, which make the point more eloquently than words ever could
Comment by Khoi Vinh — May 19, 2008 @ 5:51 pm
This person is probably either an inexperienced subway rider or an inexperienced Wall Street Journal reader. Otherwise, she would know how to fold a broadsheet. That technique, while admittedly cumbersome, is part of the joy of holding an actual newspaper in your hand.
Still, far be it from me to expect a reader to somehow become steeped in this sort of arcane usage knowledge magically. Media should be intuitive and convenient.
Comment by markporter — May 19, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
Thanks for the tip, Khoi. Maybe if we spread it widely enough we can save the newspaper industry