Wall Street Journal Proves Its Relevance With New Look, Format

Most of us probably started 2007 with the goal of being skinnier at the end of the year. Not the Wall Street Journal. It is starting the year in a trimmed down state. It has shed the fat, built up its news analysis muscle and will probably gain nothing but a more loyal readership as a result.

Starting with today's issue, the WSJ showcases a new design that makes the paper much narrower and deeper than it has ever been. I loved it the moment I released it from its pink wrapper on my driveway this morning. I was immediately struck by how much easier it is to read now, solely because of the change in navigation. Summary boxes, increased use of color, photos and a generally less cluttered look wowed me.

Best of all, the new design integrates beautifully with the WSJ's web site. Let's face it: the Internet and broadcast news outlets keep us up to date on the news. People read the WSJ not to learn what's happening, but why and how. The print edition can now do what it does best - offer analysis and deep background - while the web site takes on the task of keeping readers informed on corporate news. What's more, readers who really want to get under the covers of a story can go to the web site for online interviews via podcasts and sidebars that didn't make the print edition.

Page G8's top headline screams, "The Relevance of Good Design" and the accompanying story lists the eight principles that served as the guide for the paper's new look. Here's the top line. They are:

1. Make it easier for readers to navigate the Journal

2. Create a hierarchy of stories, so readers know the relevance of important news

3. Maintain the best visual traditions of the Journal.

4. Remember that Journal readers come to read, not to look.

5. Innovate graphically where improvements can be made.

6. Don't skimp on good journalism.

7. Balance long-form stories with secondary readings and quick story summaries.

8. Guide readers to the Online Journal - but don't overdo it.

Based on the inaugural issue of this new design, I have to say the WSJ absolutely nailed it. You can do that when you spend two years researching what readers really want and how people truly interact with the media.

The lesson for the rest of us is that no matter how relevant we are today, we can't remain relevant without making some changes along the way. But those changes have to be customer-driven. It doesn't matter if we think customers should consume our product a certain way if they prefer a different method. Perhaps nowhere else is this more evident than in the way we consume the news.

Congratulations, WSJ! I hope more papers will follow your lead.

Comments

[Laura Bergells]

Except that it should NOT take two years to research what readers really want!

This means they are operating on old information, which could prove deadly.

[Marilynn Mobley]

Laura,

You make an excellent point. There is some danger in taking so long to gather research. I suspect some of that time was spent "starting over" because the way people interact with the news changes so quickly. In any event, I'm just glad they're moving away from the "old gray lady" format and including more interactivity.

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