To the editor:
I would like to comment on the new format recently adopted by my favorite newspaper. It seems to no longer be a friendly piece of information I pick up.There are little colored specks that are printed in various areas across the page, making me feel like I need to slap the fly away. Who looks at them? Are they supposed to color the page prettier so we will want to read it more? Who sees them next to the nice large black print? It is only one more thing that has to be sorted out before I get to the good stuff.
The whole effect of the wide columns takes it from the respected newspaper format to the tabloid format where we are treated like we cannot read something intelligent unless it is dressed up.
Your format overpowers the reader with its unusual specks of color and placement of articles. There is so much white space on the pages that it seems like you don't have enough articles and have to spread out what you do have. There aren't those interesting small tidbits that make newspaper reporting fascinating.
The dark lines between articles gives the readers a feeling that they really can't figure out where the article ends, so the black line will help them avoid a mistake - treating them as if they were infants with no ability to make discernment.
I don't know who thought it up, but your best subscribers like to feel like they are picking up a friendly, informative paper, not one that seeks to break the ties that make the paper great in the first place.
Hope R. Barrowes
Salt Lake City