Convinced that the industry must learn to use less newsprint on a permanent basis, two major newspaper companies discussed the rationale behind their respective decisions to convert to a 50-inch web width.
"It's content, not size, that counts with readers," said William Dean Singleton, vice chairman, president and chief executive officer of MediaNews Inc. in Denver, Colo.
To that end, MediaNews began experimenting with a 50-inch web, rolling out the smaller format at the North Jersey Herald & News in October 1995. Focus groups found the revamped paper easier to handle and read, plus it attracted younger people without alienating traditional readers, Singleton said. The paper saved about $800,000 in newsprint after spending $105,000 to convert the presses. Circulation also improved slightly, he reported.
Encouraged by those results, the company reduced webs at The Easton Express-Times and The York Dispatch, both in Pennsylvania, the Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News and the Alameda Newspaper Group dailies in California. The change at Alameda resulted in a $2.5 million savings after conversion costs of $500,000.
Further research revealed that two-thirds of those polled liked the smaller newspaper better and 28 percent said they liked it as much, while only 4 percent said they liked it less.
The flagship Denver Post will spend $1.3 million to convert its presses by the end of the year and should save $7 million in newsprint. By reducing all of its papers to 50 inches, MediaNews should save approximately $15 million annually.
Although The Washington Post did not want to be the first of the largest dailies to jump to 50 inches, "we had to decide quickly," said Michael Clurman, vice president of production. The newspaper had already signed a contract last September with Mitsubishi to replace its 54 7/8-inch presses with 54-inch presses. Only later did it decide to install the new presses at the 50-inch format.
The new Mitsubishi keyless offset presses will be the among the largest in the world, capable of printing 96 straight pages and 28 pages of full color. The Post will install four presses each at its revamped facility in Springfield, Va., and a 350,000-foot plant under construction in College Park, Md.
The newspaper's tabloid products, including Book World, Washington Business, Washington Homes, Health and Weekend will have to be reformatted, and the paper is experimenting with a new typeface that will not sacrifice readability, Clurman said.
Focus group research supported the decision to go smaller--Most readers did not notice the change until it was brought to their attention.
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