A different size, a new direction

The copy of The Transcript you’re holding in your hands is a bit smaller than you’re used to—as of this week, the paper is a tabloid-size publication.

“Tabloid” is certainly a loaded term. It conjures up images of the National Enquirer and Weekly World News, sensationalist rags seen in grocery store checkout lines with headlines like “Revealed! Queen Latifah’s Secret Torment,” or “Chimp’s Head Put on Human Body.”

Clearly, this is not what The Transcript has become. Tabloid simply refers to the size of the paper, about half the size of a broadsheet like the former Transcript or The New York Times.

Many factors affected our decision to make this change. The journalism department is currently in a period of transition, with one full-time faculty, three adjunct faculty (will be gone by May) and one media adviser. Our reporting staff is small, as it was in the spring, making great breadth in coverage difficult. Filling eight broadsheet pages with publishable content became a daunting weekly task, especially without the abundance of long form stories from the Advanced Reporting class.

We feel the tabloid format has a lot of potential to improve the paper’s appearance and design. It’s also more convenient—easier to carry and less awkward to open and read.

We also expect the tabloid will allow us to work further towards our goal of expanding The Transcript’s online offerings.

With less page space to fill, there will inevitably be stories each week that we don’t have room to print. Those articles will be published as online exclusives. This week brings two—in the coming days, you’ll see Adelle Brodbeck’s review of Cults’ sophomore album “Static,” as well as a men’s basketball season outlook by Philippe Chaveau.

Many professional newspapers, have gone the way of the tabloid in recent years. Overall, the format allows for more efficient use of resources and makes it easier for us as a staff to fulfill our responsibilities to the Ohio Wesleyan community to the best of our collective ability.

We hope you like The Transcript’s new look. Don’t hesitate to give us your thoughts—we always want to hear from the people we serve.

The Transcript Editorial Staff