Changes heralded

The Herald reports:

The New Zealand Herald will undergo the biggest transformation in its 150-year history, with confirmation today that the weekday newspaper is moving to compact format.

The format change in September will coincide with a redesign of the award-winning nzherald.co.nz website and will modernise New Zealand’s biggest newspaper to further meet the needs of readers.

As well as the change in size – making it easier and more convenient for readers – the new-look Monday-Friday paper will have more columnists, new pages and sections and a reinforced focus on investigative journalism.

With an increase in pages, editorial space will not decrease.

It will be interesting to see the impact of this move. With a smaller front page, it means it is more likely fewer issues will make the front page. The focus on investigative journalism is welcome, but of course the proof will lie in the pudding – seeing what this means in reality.