Mirror gets new masthead

The Mirror is to become the Daily Mirror, and is dropping the red background to its masthead.

The paper will use bold pictures to dominate the front page with 'Daily Mirror' and 'Sunday Mirror' appearing in white, underlined in red.

Our new-look masthead will put the focus firmly on the paper's lead stories, and move the title away from its red-top competitors.

The Sunday Mirror gets a brand-new magazine - M-Celebs - increasing the paper's appeal to female readers. The 72-page glossy focuses on celebrity stories and gossip, with the customary M style and attitude.

And there's a hard hitting new advertising campaign which acts as an extension of the paper - rather than just talking about it - and gets across the paper's views with attitude.

The new line, 'The Mirror - Think Again', captures the paper's campaigning and challenging approach and tells people it's time to reappraise the title.

Editor Piers Morgan said: "The truth is that the Mirror 'relaunch' started on September 11, but it's only now we've chosen to make it official."We have a better understanding of what our readers want and these latest changes are designed to take us yet further ahead of the pack. Our new look signals we are a different kind of newspaper.

"The red masthead, once a badge of tabloid honour, goes. It now epitomises something downmarket, sleazy and tacky - three adjectives that could never apply to the new Mirror.

"By reverting to the original name, we are reinforcing our historical role as the people's champion and embracing a long and distinguished heritage.

"The changes are not about going up-market. They are about becoming a serious paper with serious news, serious sport, serious gossip and serious entertainment."

There is a host of other initiatives, including new writers, sections and layouts.

The Cassandra column, the legendary voice of the people for three decades, is returning in a new guise to provide a sparkling insight into everyday life.

Another new M section - M-Health - enlivens Thursday's paper, with invaluable health, beauty and fitness advice for men and women.

Friday's Mirror has also been redesigned, with more space for Jonathan Ross's movie column. A new pullout - The Ticket - provides essential news and information for the entertainment week ahead.

Our Saturday paper has undergone a complete transformation, with a whole new Review section featuring lifestyle, travel and entertainment reviews, and a beefed-up racing supplement - The Winner.

And we've signed a host of top new talent to add to our existing pool of star names.

Matthew Norman joins us from the Evening Standard as a columnist, and Oliver Holt, The Times's number one sports commentator, becomes Chief Sports Writer.

John Pilger, the legendary campaigning journalist, is back. Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland is writing for us, along with Miranda Sawyer and Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair.

Saturday's award-winning Look magazine also gets a makeover, with the emphasis totally on TV - reviews, gossip and listings for the week ahead.

But there's more from our regulars too. The paper's world-famous celebrity team - the 3am Girls - get double billing every day from now on, with twice the writers and twice the space. And Shelleyvision's TV review goes daily.

These latest moves are just part of an evolutionary process that's seen us twice voted Newspaper of the Year in the last few months.

Since September 11, every edition of the Mirror has featured a hard-hitting news story on the front page.

We've stopped giving celebrities copy approval û they now feature in the paper on our terms or not at all - and fought the likes of Naomi Campbell on the important principle of press freedom.

As part of the brand relaunch, we've undertaken extensive research into exactly what our readers want from the paper.

Mark Haysom, Trinity Mirror's Managing Director, National Titles, said: "It is time to reinvest in the Daily and Sunday Mirror, putting them back on the road to greatness.

"The paper has a powerful role to play as the champion of truth and enemy of spin and I am convinced the Mirror is set to be a great brand again.

"This is the first stage in a new strategy to increase frequency of purchase and attract younger readers."

We are also be dropping bulk sales and re-deploying the resources back into the newspapers.