Chicago Tribune Readers Find Big Photos "Disorienting"

Last September we showed you the Chicago Tribune's splashy, graphics-intensive redesign. We thought the design looked nice, but apparently it wasn't good enough to stop the catastrophic downward slide of the entire newspaper industry.

In fact, readers hated it so much that the Tribune is undoing many of the changes. Today the Tribune published a special cover flap announcing its responses to reader complaints. Among the problems: Readers didn't like the larger photographs. Editor & Publisher reports:

Many readers dislike the Tribune's new practice of using large front-page photographs. "Some people found this disorienting," the Tribune said. "On top of that, we didn't get everything right the first time." But it said even if that "unsettles some readers," that big displays of photos would continue.

"Our photojournalists are among the best in the world, and we are displaying their work more prominently," the Tribune said. "At the same time, size doesn't always equate with worth. Therefore, we are being more rigorous in editing photos so their use is commensurate with their value."

It goes on like that, and it's kind of sad. Read the whole story for a look at a newspaper (like many others) suffering from a lack of vim, confidence and swagger.

Update: Chicago Tribune editor Gerould Kern has written a letter responding to the Editor & Publisher story. Read it here.

Update 2: Follow-up story from E&P.

Comments

[thomas toohey brown]

They are attempting to do what we all should consider if we are experienceing tougher times...tweak and re-invent ourselves. They have succeeded by making peolple talk...