The state’s largest newspaper has rolled out an expanded Sunday edition.
The new DelawareOnLine.com site of the News Journal site and the redesign of the print product is part of an initiative by parent Gannett Co. to breathe life into its holdings in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
Gannett has grown its local television station business, with the acquisition of Belo stations, while, for the most part, retaining its print properties.
The Sunday circulation of the News Journal Sunday edition stood at 95,000, according to a report a year ago from the Alliance for Audited Media. That compares to the 2009 circulation of 112,000. The average daily print circulation of the News Journal, as of last year, was 72,000, compared to the 2009 figure of 84,000, the report indicated.
The front page of the redesigned News Journal bears a striking resemblance to the Newark Post, a weekly newspaper and website that earlier underwent a makeover.
The beefed up newspaper draws on the resources of Gannett’s flagship USA Today and comes with an expanded news package. As the new editions rolled out, the influence of USA Today loomed large over the local paper area.
In a column, News Journal Editor David Ledford and Susan Leath, the new publisher, wrote that the News Journal will add more than 70 pages a week as part of its “More” initiative. The business pages now have bankruptcies and property transfers, features that had disappeared as the the number of print pages dropped over the year.
DelawareOnline.com is the state’s most visited news website, ranking 8,856 in the nation by Alexa.com, a web measurement service. Changes beyond the loss of Associated Press wire coverage were harder o detect as the week went on.
The website features the principles of modern web design, including a fast-moving slider feature that highlights top stories.
In the early going, the site appeared to be faster than its predecessor, which was often criticized for its lack of responsiveness. At the same time, longtime visitors to the website have complained about having trouble finding content. For example, business news stories are now listed under the news header and are not visible on the home page, unless the post is a lead story. At the same time, however, blogs can be tapped from the home page.
The News Journal and Gannett are also responding to the increasing use of mobile devices to access news. Despite the rollout of apps for smartphones and tablets many users still want to read their news via a flagship website. Newspaper companies, with a large number of websites, have struggled with the fast-moving world of web design evolves and papers struggle with losses in revenue. The newest Gannett web style has been employed in various forms for the last two to three years at other media sites.
It remains to be seen whether the larger news hole will result in more local coverage. Like all newspapers, The News Journal has steadily trimmed staff over the years, with the latest cuts coming last year as advertising in areas such help wanted and real estate did not recover from pre-recession levels and in some cases declined further.
At the same time, the News Journal has not seen the deep cuts experienced elsewhere. In some markets, newspapers operate with a handful of staffers after coping with crushing debt loads and management turmoil from previous buyouts and other transactions.
Gannett, for example, has avoided some of these problems that have hit the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. Another ownership change is looming at that media property in a dispute that will be played out in Delaware Chancery Court. – Doug Rainey
