New Look Dispatch

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• published: 13 Sep 2012
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Is The Columbus Dispatch going the way of the tabloids? No, but The Columbus Dispatch is turning the paper on its side. The paper will change from broadsheet, the large, hard-to-see-your-cereal-bowl-while-reading, to shorter pages. As an independent, family-owned newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch holds a unique spot in the world of major dailies. Ben Marrison, publisher of The Columbus Dispatch, will discuss the evolution of a daily newspaper including how and why the Dispatch will be making this dramatic change. With continued challenges of daily newspapers across the country, he will explain the research and investments that Wolfe Associates, Inc., the parent company, is making regarding Columbus'major daily newspaper. The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism released its 2012 annual report on American Journalism. The report showed that the trend of lower advertising revenue has continued, while readership has remained flat. The mix of on-line advertising has increased for on-line versions of daily newspapers compared to print advertising, yet on-line advertising has not nearly been able to compensate for the overall losses in advertising revenue. As print publications continue to struggle to maintain their influence in the computer age, Marrison and his colleagues at The Columbus Dispatch are hoping that the new format will enhance the experience of reading the paper, thereby recapturing and ideally growing readership, subscription base and advertisers. The Cincinnati Enquirer and the Kentucky Enquirer will also be moving to this newer format about a month after The Columbus Dispatch. Not by coincidence, these papers will be printed at The Columbus Dispatch-owned printing facility in Columbus.