From the editor: a new dawn for The Courier
This week is a momentous one in the life of The Courier. After almost 200 years of reporting the news for you we will, for once, be making it when we change from being a broadsheet newspaper to a compact.
The front page of the first compact Courier is completed. Below the first papers start to roll off the press.
- By Richard Neville, Courier editor
- Published in the Courier : 16.01.12
- Published online : 16.01.12 @ 07.33am
A new, brighter, bolder Courier will appear on Saturday with a fresh design and full colour on every page. Readers will still find favourite features and regular items but there will be much, much more on offer including exciting new platforms on lifestyle, sport, business and what's on as well as more local news coverage from across Courier country.
To celebrate this historic move, we will be starting our biggest ever giveaway with the free Love Food cookery recipe collection backed by celebrity chef Nick Nairn.
This change is a big step but it is one that we believe will be welcomed warmly across the region because it has been driven by you, the readers.
The Courier is proud of its unrivalled coverage of local news, events and people and its broad mix of Scottish, UK and international stories. Our aim has always been, and will continue to be, to inform and entertain the people of Dundee, Angus, Perthshire and Fife with the best coverage we can possibly manage every day.
Saturday is a new dawn for The Courier. In these challenging times for newspapers it represents a significant investment in a title that is second to none at serving its community and one that is produced with the highest standards of integrity.
The future for your newspaper is very bright indeed. We believe it is important to have a strong voice reporting the news from the region and we will continue to hold civic bodies up to scrutiny but also to celebrate the many success stories there are across the area.
The Courier itself is one of those success stories as we are one of the biggest regional morning newspapers in Britain. Our circulation performance is well above the industry average and we are in the top five selling regional newspapers in the United Kingdom.
The one thing we have not been able to bring you until now is a change to the format of the newspaper to make it a more manageable and user-friendly size. It is a change that has been thought about for a long time and now is the right time to make the move as a demonstration of the commitment of our owners, DC Thomson, to the future of newspapers in print and in digital form.
The Courier is proud of its place at the heart of our communities and that is where we intend to stay. Nobody else puts the same resources and time into delivering local, Scottish and UK news, sport, business and features than we do and we believe the new compact Courier will be an even more popular part of the daily lives of our readers.
Local news will always be the core of the paper and will dominate the front of the news section. We will also report on Scottish issues and bring you the latest and best news from across the country.
A new section called View will be the beating heart of the newspaper with a daily news feature, an extra comment column with new voices complementing old favourites, extra readers' letters plus regular popular features including the Craigie column, Fax cartoon and snippets from our archives.
We understand the importance of business to the economic health and well-being of Courier country and we will be expanding our coverage across the week but particularly on a Wednesday when a new section of up to 12 pages will bring unparalleled coverage of local businesses and the people who have made them a success.
The business of agriculture has always been a mainstay of The Courier but now it will be an extended section on a Monday to look at farming in more depth. It will also take in the wider agricultural sector and related industries including equestrian matters, diversification, new farming innovation and the wider food industry and country pursuits.
On Thursdays we will publish a pull-out property section to bring you the best of what is for sale in the region.
The Courier's coverage of local entertainment events has always been popular, ranging from classical music concerts and rock and pop gigs to exhibitions and theatre productions. Now these will all be brought together in a comprehensive What's On pull-out platform on a Friday to help you plan your social life for the weekend and week ahead.
Saturday means a change of pace for most readers and our weekend package will have a more relaxed and reflective feel with a look back at the week's top news and political stories and a new pull-out leisure and lifestyle section has been designed to bring together the best of our current C2 and Weekender products.
Sport will also be getting a facelift and a major boost in content. On Mondays we will be featuring more than 20 pages of local, Scottish and UK sport with a comprehensive round-up of professional and amateur results. Our sports writers will be giving their own views on the games they see and every match report will be packed with statistics that fans and armchair enthusiasts love.
We believe the new-look Courier will be bigger, bolder and better than any other title in the newsagent. With increased content and full colour, there will be a lot for readers to take in. We will help you find your way around the new paper and direct you towards your favourite sections through bold signposting and a comprehensive index on page two every day.
The Courier is an important part of your lives and a friend in a rapidly-changing world. We will remain faithful to the role of being a steadfast champion for our part of Scotland but we know we must continue to evolve to reflect the ebb and flow of modern life.
Please help us celebrate the beginning of a fantastic new era for The Courier. It is your paper and one we hope that you will enjoy reading every day. Our aim is to produce the best newspaper in Scotland and to champion Dundee, Angus, Perthshire and Fife with all the passion and drive that you have come to expect.
To put it simply, the new Courier will be much easier to pick up but a lot harder to put down.
Enjoy.
- Why not tell us exactly what you think of our new look — and be in with a chance of winning some cash at the same time! By way of thanks, everyone who takes the time to respond to the survey will be entered into a prize draw, with the chance to win £100 cash. There will also be four runners-up prizes of £25. Visit www.completeasurvey.co.uk/compactcourier to enter. The closing date for this survey is Friday 3rd February 2012.
09.12am - 16.01.2012 Alastair - Perth, UK Report This
Good idea, but when will we get P&J and The Courier on our Kindles and Ipads. These two titles cover the remotist readership district in the country and would be ideal in digital form. It would save my elderly father a daily 4 mile cycle trip.
09.19am - 16.01.2012 Andrea Stanford - Newburgh, FIFE, Scotland Report This
I can't wait to buy the compact Courier. Will make reading it in a confined space so much easier than broadsheet. Should have been done long ago.
10.30am - 16.01.2012 E, Niven - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Iam glad this has happened to our local paper. I'm looking forward to this new venture. I have lots of family and friends abroad who always read this paper online. Perhaps there can more news put online as well as the internet edition of the paper is different from the hardcopy version.
12.09pm - 16.01.2012 Steve Scott - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Will it still be printed in Dundee, and have local editions? If it's going to be a Glasgow printed product, I'm out.
12.26pm - 16.01.2012 Shelagh McHardy - Dundee, Scotland Report This
About time! I'm sure there will be a lot of "older" people who will be a bit confused at first, but they'll get used to the new format in time. It'll make it so much easier to read and stop fights about space on the kitchen table!!
12.31pm - 16.01.2012 Dubai Dundonian - Dubai, U.A.E. Report This
The Internet version is shockingly poor but I still read it every day. I would willingly pay a subscription for a product closer to the print copy. Be weird coming home to a 'shrunken' Courier but I remember when they put news on the front page for the first time! Got used to that easily enough.
12.59pm - 16.01.2012 Online editor - Dundee, Scotland Report This
@Steve Scott: printing stays in Dundee, and DC Thomson are making substantial new investment in that area. And, yes, we retain local editions. We'll bring you more information throughout the week. Thanks for your interest.
01.31pm - 16.01.2012 Al - Broughty, Dundee, UK Report This
Dubai - Shockingly poor internet edition of the Courier? It's a brilliant simple website in my opinion - no extraneous features/inappropriately placed advertising etc - simple oft-updated news stories. I have no relationship with the Courier so I can say impartially it is a very very good product!
01.34pm - 16.01.2012 Will Stott - Dundee, UK Report This
The p&j has had a compact style for approx. 8 years on Saturdays/Mondays., last Friday saw the last ever broadsheet edition. Is Courier changing gradually, or is this weekend it? Sounds terribly like an oversight if its the later.
02.02pm - 16.01.2012 Jonny - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Excellent news, the courier will now fit on my bog flair.
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