Introducing the Isthmus print redesign, March 19, 2015
When Craig, Mark and I purchased Isthmus, many people asked why we would buy into a dying medium. My answer was easy: It's not dying. I love print, and I know that many of our readers do too. I don't view us as being in the mobile, tablet, print or online business — we are content producers, and we will tell our stories as best we can on all mediums. Today, nine months after we purchased Isthmus, we are launching a redesign of all of our platforms. The print debuts today, and our online products will launch this weekend.
Our goal for all of our platforms is simple. We want to use clean, timeless design and more art to better tell our stories. You can expect to see our production artists sharpening the design each week to continually improve the presentation of our content.
We realize that any redesign process means change, and change is not easy, especially when it concerns something you have grown used to. Internally, it hasn't always been easy for us either, and we've had to make some difficult choices.
As you page through this week's paper, you will find a few new features.
Itinerary will open the paper with a look ahead, flagging some of the area's not-to-be missed community events that don't have a natural home in our entertainment section.
Snapshot is a narrative profile that offers a window into an interesting individual, group or event that often goes unnoticed.
Emphasis will be a resource for the way we live today, with features that highlight Madison living, home decor and locally made products.
Tech coverage will be regular and ongoing, with a focus on local startups, research, entrepreneurs and the industry's impact on the city and state.
As readership on mobile, tablets and PCs continues to grow, we've had to acknowledge that some content is best served on those mediums. You will notice that our "Guide" section has been greatly reduced and curated to give you what we think are each day's most important events. We will continue our commitment to publishing all community events, but many of them will now be online only. We realize that this will upset some people, but it was a necessary change to provide more space to cover the changing landscape of Madison. That will mean more coverage of food, beer, cocktails, arts, music and entertainment, in addition to our continued dedication to in-depth news stories, investigative reports and cover features.
We hope that you appreciate our commitment to the printed page. We have watched Madison icons like The Onion go online only and The Capital Times cut back to a weekly. With a few changes and expanded coverage, we will carry on the Isthmus tradition to bring you the printed page "to the death."