International newspaper designer Mario Garcia outlines the themes for newsroom discussion.
“It was a year of self imposed analysis for many publishers worldwide in 2012, and now they and their editors are ready in 2013 for some practical implementation based on what they have learned from that exercise in introspection,” he says.
“As far as years go, 2012 had as much spice for us at Garcia Media as a good Thai green curry chicken. Now that old man 2012, its long white beard staring at us, is quite ready for its swansong, I have spent part of the weekend taking a look back at some of the highlights. In many ways, our own work this past year reflects the many changes that the industry face.
“During the course of the year that was I personally travelled close to one million miles globally (which makes Lufthansa quite happy, danke!), and a lot of my travel was devoted to speaking at conferences and to conducting seminal workshops at a variety of newsrooms in six continents. These are pure learning experiences for me as I observe what people are doing and discuss with them their concerns as well as their goals, and their achievements, of course.
“It was also the year that I wrote and published my first digital book, iPad Design Lab: Storytelling in the Age of the Tablet, a fantastic and fun learning experience. I continue to share what I, as a traditional print author, discovered while writing that book, with my clients and seminar participants.”
Ten themes that defined 2012’s newsrooms discussions
If my Moleskine diaries are an indication, these are some of the larger themes I have observed:
• Newspapers specifically are now ready to make the big moves. Having come thru the lamenting period, editors and publishers are now dealing with the more practical, and positive, aspects of moving on, finding a niche for the printed product, and concentrating on brand extension and top class storytelling.
• The media quartet is playing well at most newsrooms: mobile, online, print and tablet. This is not just a catch phrase, but a plan ready for implementation.
• Tablet development is past the ‘e reader’ stage and moving into solid discussions of how to take the content of a newspaper (or magazine) to the new platform, accommodating what the users want: updated news, PDF of printed pages and, very importantly, curated editions that take special content that adapts well to the tablet platform.
• There is much discussion of the role of the printed newspaper and, particularly, frequency of publication: I believe that in 2013 several newspaper titles will consider publishing less than daily, and some will beef up their weekend editions. This may happen sooner in the US and western Europe.
• The printed newspaper as we knew it continues to thrive in areas of the world as the Middle East, eastern Europe, many parts of Asia, including India and China, and, to some degree, in Latin America. We will be involved in the creation and development of new printed newspapers that will be born in 2013.
• More newspapers consider making a move to smaller formats. Compact is the way to go, and an A4 format is, in my view, an option for the printed newspaper of the future.
• Responsive design, the one look that adapts easily to all the platforms, is a hot topic of discussion. We think that it will be a sure topic for implementation in 2013.
• Mobile platforms are gaining popularity, as more publishers think beyond just providing “news updates” in those platforms and aim for content that offers service—-and which attracts advertisers.
• Paywalls seem to have the sound of Christmas bells as more publishers consider them as the way to go. For publishers, 2013 will be the year that the word FREE begins to disappear from their daily discussions.
• Online editions are getting a lot of attention as they sit in the midst of the media quartet: in terms of content, more frequently updated cycles; as for design, not just responsive, but also cleaner, leaner, less cluttered. We should see some dry vibrant and aesthetically pleasing models in 2013.
From TheMarioBlog with permission.