Comments offered on Carthage Press redesign

It has been quite a while since the last major redesign of The Carthage Press, so I was interested in seeing the new look, which was unveiled in the Sunday edition.

After examining the first three days of the look, I can't exactly describe it as a stunning success, but it did not do any damage to the paper and it does have a clean, easy-to-read look. A couple of thoughts:

-The nameplate is simple and stands out, but I would have preferred a more historic look, but the new nameplate is attractive without turning off loyal older readers.

-The look of the paper is not too busy, which has been a drawback for redesigns at many newspapers. Sometimes, the effort to draw in younger readers through fancy graphics and trendy design has alienated longtime readers. The changes made by The Press do not appear to cause any such problems.

I was not impressed with the explanation of the redesign provided in the Sunday Press. The paper is going to use "alternative strong formats," the writer breathlessly intoned. Most readers are not going to understand that jargon. I can't tell you what "alternative strong formats" are, unless you are simply saying you are going to try different things and they will all look good. That requires a leap of faith.

The redesign was done by GateHouse Media, according to the explanation. And while it gives lip service to local input, I am curious as to just how much local input there was and how much GateHouse Media wants to be able to serve up cookie-cutter newspapers without regard to the community.

As for the content, something which is generally forgotten in attempts to dazzle readers with the brilliance of a redesign (which in most cases is commissioned to try to distract readers from noticing the lack of local content), I can't complain much about the first three editions of the newly-constituted Press.

I would have hoped the first edition would have had a couple of powerful stories, but that was not the case. However, it did not lack for local content. Page one was jam-packed with local items, including John Hacker's coverage of the sales tax debate, Buzz Ball's coverage of Carthage Senior High School's Big Man on Campus competition and another Carthage R-9 feature.

That being said, the last thing I would want to have as my lead story on the day that a major redesign is launched is the first of a series of articles explaining a sales tax issue.

The photos were also weak, with most of them taken by General Manager/Editor Buzz Ball at the BMOC.

Looking back at the redesign, done totally by Press staffers Rick Rogers and Ron Graber in October 1998, we planned for stories and photos for the premiere edition, including Graber's shots of the crowning of Carthage Maple Leaf Queen Kacey Baugh and of workers putting a steeple on St. Ann's Catholic Church.

Our lead stories were the crowning of the queen, the Kansas City Star's mounting a defense in the libel lawsuit filed by Carthage's Terry Reed, both written by me, and Jo Ellis' coverage of the sale of the old Carthage Police Department building.

We also included a message from Publisher Ralph Bush about the redesign.

That edition also featured a completely local editorial page, with a columns by Marvin VanGilder and me, and a local editorial.

It had a foods page with recipes from Clyde Phillips, a lifestyles page, and a sports page with coverage of Carthage High School football, soccer, and volleyball, and eighth grade volleyball.

Of course, at that time, we had a staff featuring Graber, Rogers, Mrs. Ellis, John Hacker and me, as well as recent Webb City High School graduate Jana Blankenship, who worked part-time. Now, the staff is four, including Ball, who also has managerial duties that are not related to the news department.

Despite those restrictions, The Press has been able to greatly improve its coverage in recent weeks, something which has been made possible by adding Kevin McClintock to the staff, and giving John Hacker some help. In an editorial page column Sunday, Ball noted the work done by the news staff and the rest of those who work at The Press.

The premiere edition also included two special sections, a practice which I have decried as beginning the death of newspapers several years ago, but these special sections were at least as much news-oriented as they were advertising supplements, with one covering the opening of the new Carthage Senior High School building (a page one photo involving that would have been a good idea) and the spring sports preview.

Finally, I have to comment on one new section in the reconstituted Press, "Your News Page," which features items submitted by readers. Hopefully, that will not be a step toward turning much of the editorial content over to the readers and saving a few bucks on actual news coverage. It doesn't appear to be that way, but with so many newspapers trying to disguise extra comments and reader-submitted photos as solid substitutes for professionally-produced news, it is a concern.