Even though printed newspaper circulation is falling and digital access continues to grow, readers still identify with and value the print edition. It has only been three months since Folha implemented its latest graphical remodeling. Decades-long subscribers (myself included) confess that they are still getting used to the new aspects.
Many readers, of course, have already forgotten how the newspaper looked before the redesign. Others, however, continue sending messages, irritated by many page layout changes that make reading more difficult.
When presenting the overhaul to readers, the newspaper explained that articles, pages and section were being given a new logic and order in the print edition. "Text, images and infographics will now be edited with the appropriate emphasis. Emphasis, in fact, that often only the printed product - with its logical ordering, its tactile sensation and ease-of-use - can deliver." A video extolled that the new project allows for more flexibility and takes advantage of the best element that the print edition has to offer, its large format.
The newspaper frequently resorts to a type of layout where themes begin on one page and then photos and text spread on to the next. This layout pre-supposes that reading is being done with two pages open simultaneously, something that is possible (but not necessarily always done) with the print edition and is rarely part of the experience of the digital version.
In a message to the Ombudsman one reader had a good explanation for what the authors of Folha*'s new graphical project seem to have had in mind: "For several weeks now Folha* has been presenting graphics and photos centered across double pages. In order to visualize this, you need a wingspan (sorry for the aeronautical term) of 65 cm [26 inches]. Now who actually reads the newspaper like this? Only if you are sitting at a desk. People usually sit in an armchair, reading the newspaper folded in the middle."
Reader Eduardo Navarro complained of "many reports and articles with no ending". He gave as an example an article published on the 11th of July. It started at the end of a main story published on page A10 and continued on to page A11, without any signalization for the continuation of the text. Anyone who read only the part on the first page was left thinking that the article was incomplete.
Another reader complained of a more worrisome misunderstanding from casual reading. On Saturday, the 8th of July, after scanning page A8, he got the impression that a member of the NGO Doutores da Alegria was involved in irregularities in the healthcare sector in Rio. His photo was next to some text with the title: "Former Health Secretary implicates business leaders" (in misappropriations). Only when the reader turned the page did he realize that the article for the photo on page A8 was printed on page A9, where it duly explained that the Doutores da Alegria had electoral campaign plans.
The image editor, Thea Severino, explains that the graphical project framework is constructed daily with a toolbox utilized by Text Editing. "There are good and poor examples of the use of these tools. Just like there are good and poor infographics, interesting columns and not-so-interesting ones, spectacular photos and run-of-the-mill photos."
The most important objective, she concluded, is for the newspaper to be as didactic and informative as possible, as well as being esthetically pleasing.
Regarding the utilization of dual page layouts, she had this to say: "We believe that the format contemplates different ways of reading Folha. The print newspaper reader opens up both pages and can see them both at the same time, before folding them back over, in whatever format is better for them."
Regarding the continuation of articles on following pages, she compares the process of reading a newspaper to that of a book. "The pages don't start and end on themselves (except, of course, for the first and final pages of each publication) and the reader doesn't get lost. This is a question of habit. When there is the chance for confusion with the text being continued on the following page, the project calls for clear signalization for this (ex. continued on page XX)."
The comparison with reading a book seems to me to be misplaced because the two experiences are completely different.
When used on a daily basis by Folha, the organization of articles across double pages makes the reader's life difficult, reading more disorganized, and allows for erroneous perceptions and impressions, as well as problems with overall appearance and finishing.
I am not questioning the advantages of this editorial layout alternative. It allows for the publication of highly impactful and attractive pages, but care should be taken that it be used parsimoniously and with special criteria.
There is a well-known natural rhythm to reading movement, which can be altered as long as the path to follow is clearly signaled. Preferentially without complicating it. The objective should be simplifying and facilitating the reader's life, anticipating their needs and difficulties. Not requiring a wingspan, or the reach of an anteater to comprehend the pages.
Translated by LLOYD HARDER
Read the article in the original language
+Latest news in English