New look, same stuff

The Olympian  unveiled its new look today, and from all indications, it’s really just more of the same. 

They have a new logo, a new type style and a new layout, but it’s the same old stuff we’ve grown to accept.

They’ve dumped their horizontal layout for a partial vertical layout.   They’ve placed their letters to the editor down the side of the editorial page and in smaller type.   And, they’ve reduced their news hole on the front page.

The only redeeming change was jumping front page stories to the back page.   All newspapers used to do this, but when the back page became to valuable for advertising, most papers stopped running news on the back page.  The Olympian  has regressed backwards, but it does make the paper more readable.

We’re getting fewer and fewer local stories while the space is being filled with larger headlines and more pictures to make it appear that the space is being used wisely.

All of these new changes are just an attempt to make us forget that the quantity of news coverage has decline.  It’s a new look, but the same old stuff.