One of the country's oldest and most distinguished weekly
newspapers is switching from broadsheet to compact format.
The Chester Chronicle, which has in the last 10 years picked up
four national awards for best weekly newspaper, relaunches on March 4th.
Readers will get a five-section package: a compact main news
jacket, pull-out leisure guide and listings, compact classified section and
broadsheet motors and property supplements.
The compact relaunch has been made possible by Trinity Mirror's
manufacturing strategy, which has seen printing of the paper transferred to the
Group's new state-of-the-art colour press in Birmingham.
In preparation for the change, the Chester Chronicle - and its
sister paper the Flintshire Chronicle - switched production to the £60m-plus
centre at the beginning of this year.
This has improved reproduction quality, and means the Chronicle
now benefits from full colour, increasing its appeal to readers and advertisers
alike.
The relaunch has been led by Trinity Mirror Cheshire's
Editor-in-Chief, Eric Langton, with input from the divisional editorial team and
executives from other Trinity Mirror titles in the North West.
Eric's team worked closely with Darren Thwaites, Editorial
Development Manager for Trinity Mirror's Regionals division, to develop new
content ideas.
And Trinity Mirror Merseyside's Design Editor Gary Bainbridge,
the man behind the successful redesign of the Liverpool Daily Post, worked on
the Chronicle's new look.
Eric Langton said: "We have a winner. We have retained the best
of our traditions but added lots of new ideas and our new look makes everything
much easier for the readers to find their way around.
"This has been a real team effort, with the Group, divisional
team and sister newspapers all playing their part.
"The Chronicle is a big newspaper and research confirmed that
some readers found it difficult to handle. We have tested the new look and new
content with our readers and had a fantastic response.
"The emphasis will be on more community news, more grassroots
sport and definitely more stories about the successes and triumphs of people in
our community.
"We are used to winning awards but the most important thing for
the staff is to win the hearts of our readers."
