Hot on the heels of recent speculation regarding the future format of the Miami Herald comes this report from editorsweblog.org on the possibility of the Chicago Tribune converting itself to tabloid format as well.
Figures covering the last six months confirm the paper’s inability to escape the industry-wide patterns of decreasing circulations. [Tribune publisher David] Hiller thus suggested that the paper might soon undergo significant changes, hinting that a transition to a tabloid format may be a possibility. While many major broadsheets have already undergone such a transition in Europe, Hiller’s comments mark the beginning of what may be a similar explosion in the US.
By now you may be wondering whether the Post is planning to make such a move as well. Obviously, I couldn’t say even if I knew or not, but my hunch is that the Post will continue to publish in broadsheet form for the forseeable future at least, while continuing to evaluate the tabloid format and watching how readers in other markets react. Of course, they already publish a paper in tab format, but the two are not exactly aimed at the same market.
One sidebar from the article which I found to be of particular interest:
The paper has also introduced a “subscriber advantage program” through which subscribers to the print edition have free access to certain sections which otherwise require a fee for online-only users.
Now this is something I can see more sites working on implementing; Business Week and Editor & Publisher already do this — just to name two off the top of my head — along with numerous others. It would not surprise me if the Post is thinking along similar lines.
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