Newspaper design: Observer-Reporter

The old main photo was intended to “pack a punch,” but it didn't have the impact of this photo, which also served to direct the reader's eye to the main headline.

The old page contained photos from other movies, but did not group them, label them or crop them for maximum impact, as was done on the new page.

The old section flag took up a great deal of space but didn't allow space for any promos. The new page takes up less space with a promo integrated into its design.

The old page and the new page promoted the same stories. But the promo panel at the bottom of the new page is better because it allows for larger and more dynamic presentation of the promo images; a single panel at the bottom is cleaner than four panels running top to bottom; and placing the promos at the bottom of the page helps to separate them from the unrelated stories above.

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.