Easy to pick up, hard to put down (From Durham Times)

Easy to pick up, hard to put down

12:11pm Friday 26th June 2009

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IN OUR own little way, the Durham Times has been something of a publishing phenomenon.

Launched just over two years ago, the paper has rapidly established itself at the heart of the city’s affairs.

An editorial and commercial success, it has bucked the trend in regional newspaper publishing by demonstrating there is an audience for a local newspaper that reports on the community it serves in a comprehensive and thoughtful way. Our readership has steadily grown and our advertisers have stayed with us through the deepest recession in living memory.

So why are we tampering with what has been a successful formula, in converting from broadsheet to compact, or tabloid, format? The answer lies with our sister newspaper, the 161-year-old Darlington & Stockton Times, which successfully converted to the smaller size in March this year.

The D&S, as it is known in South Durham and North Yorkshire, has a long tradition of quality, local journalism. It made the switch after extensive research indicated the change would be popular with readers.

The success of the change suggested that the convenience of the smaller size will find favour with readers of the Durham Times too. Perceptions of what a tabloid, or compact, newspaper should be have changed markedly in recent years.

Not so long ago, a tabloid newspaper tended to be considered at best popular and, at worst, downmarket and trashy.

Today, with many quality broadsheet newspapers having switched to a smaller format, including The Times, The Guardian, Independent, Observer and, of course, our sister daily paper The Northern Echo, that perception has changed.

We can promise our commitment to a traditional style of reporting is unaltered. The package may be a different shape but what is within will remain the same.

Whether it is the affairs of our local councils, the cathedral, business, clubs and societies, women’s institutes, village news, local history, eating out and in, sports teams and leagues, all will keep their place in the newlook paper.

We hope the change of the Durham Times to a compact format will further assist that change of perception of what a tabloid newspaper can be.

We will maintain our standards and two-year-old traditions and endeavour to enhance them.

There may be doubters among those traditionalists who instinctively prefer the broadsheet, but we are confident our format change will leave the Durham Times in better shape than ever.

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