Not-so-broadsheets

For years American newspapers both big and small, great and modest, have tried to save some money by shaving off more and more from the sides of their physical product. The process has been so gradual that you hardly notice it. But here in Russia, there are still several old-fashioned broadsheets, and still whenever I buy them I realize I hardly know how to hold the things anymore.

Recently my mom sent us a package, and she thoughtfully included a copy of her local newspaper, the Ocala Star-Banner. It made me think about the clown show at the circus, when the Hobo Clown is being chased by the Policeman Clown, and he tries to hide by sitting on a stoop, crossing his legs, and reading a newspaper like a respectable citizen. Only he doesn’t have a newspaper so he unfolds his handkerchief and holds it in front of his face and pretends it's a newspaper. That’s what it feels like to physically read the Star-Banner nowadays.

All the great newspapers of Europe have already bitten the bullet and chosen to switch to the – gasp – tabloid format. Not only does it save paper, but advertisers should be pleased they never have to see their ad buried at the bottom of a long page where no one sees it. A serious newspaper has nothing to fear from the shape of its pages. And that American newspapers continue to clown around by fussing with the margins is another part of the short-sightedness on both the business and editorial sides that is crippling the industry.