The old page contained photos from this preemie's
first year, but they weren't presented in a way that made it easy to track
her progress. The new page makes comparisons easy.
The largest photo on the old page did not have
the visual dynamism or emotional energy of this photo, which appeared
on an inside page in the published edition.
The new page added promos that increased the
element count and the number of images. It also allowed a local photo
to appear in color in the published edition it appeared in black and white
on an inside page.
Both the old page and the new page contained
a photo and an image to promote an upcoming story. But the photo on the
old page had much smaller image size, so the new page's life-size image
has much more impact.
The Observer-Reporter is a 40,000-circulation daily newspaper serving Washington and Greene counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The paper has two kinds of readers longtime residents of the small mining towns that dot the region and newcomers from Pittsburgh who prefer the lower taxes and suburban setting that Washington County offers.
To meet the needs of both kinds of readers, the Observer-Reporter must
provide complete coverage of local news and a comprehensive report of
national and international events. The redesign includes tools to help
achieve this goal digests of national news and national sports
free up most of the front page and sports front for local news.
To grow its circulation, the Observer-Reporter must compete head-to-head with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which is published just 25 miles to the north. It must convince newcomers who are more oriented toward Pittsburgh and the Post-Gazette to switch to the Observer-Reporter for its more thorough coverage of Washington County news.
To succeed, the Observer-Reporter must offer a superior local report and
a concise, yet complete, wire report. And it must provide both without
the resources of its competitors.