Community papers plan format change

By: Lucia Moses Fidelity chain to switch from broadsheets to tabloids

Starting Oct. 3, Community Newspaper Co. (cnc), serving eastern Massachusetts, is jettisoning the tabloid format at 76 of its publications, in search of new ad dollars in the broadsheet form.
Needham, Mass.-based cnc says that by putting its tabs in the same format as its other 31 papers, it hopes to reduce its printing costs and attract more advertisers by making ads more uniform in size and placement across the group.
"I think it'll increase our effectiveness in selling our newspapers, which has been more complicated than it needs to be," cnc president Kirk Davis says. "It's a highly competitive market, and we think this absolutely enhances our competitive situation."
The switch affects 74 weeklies and two editions of cnc's only daily, the MetroWest Daily News, total circulation 48,000. cnc's 16 weekly Tab newspapers, which are part of the switch, will keep their name. Davis admits the situation is unusual, but says the Tabs have strong brand recognition." It's a brand that has a rich history with readers," he says.
cnc's conversion follows six months of planning over which cnc used focus groups to gauge reader reaction to a switch, and readers said they considered the content, readability, and organization more important than the format, Davis says. The company hired Quincy, Mass.-based ad agency Devine and Pearson to promote the changes. Davis estimates planning and promotion costs will total about $700,000.
The new broadsheet papers will be printed on a 50-inch web, making them consistent with cnc's existing broadsheets, which were shrunk from 54-inch web width earlier this year. The smaller format is gaining popularity around the country with broadsheets shrinking their web widths to save money on newsprint.
Also Oct. 3, cnc plans to break out its classifieds into a separate section, reduce the number of zoned classified editions, and co-brand the print classifieds on its Web site under the name of CommunityClassifieds.com.
The papers generally have kept the same format since cnc acquired them in 29 separate acquisitions over 10 years. Currently, both tabs and broadsheets are printed on the same three presses, which adds time to the production process.
The cnc chain was founded 10 years ago by Fidelity Capital, a division of Fidelity Investments in Boston.
Davis rejects suggestions that the company, which has been rumored to be for sale, is switching to all broadsheets to make itself more attractive to buyers.
"To the extent increasing profits makes you interesting to buyers, we're doing it, but we're not for sale," he says.
A broadsheet has advantages on the advertising and editorial sides, says Linda Sease, vice president for marketing/public relations at the Denver Rocky Mountain News, one of 48 U.S. tabloid dailies.
A broadsheet can charge higher ad rates, and while some advertisers prefer tabs because their ad can easily be pulled out, the format doesn't work for others who place multi-item ads or are reluctant to remake their broadsheet ad for a tabloid-size paper. Editorially, the bigger broadsheet format lends itself to more design options and a cleaner look, Sease says.
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