The first few days of The Reflector’s new design have brought generally good reviews, I’m happy to report — along with a few not-so-happy readers. Here’s a sampling of the response to our changes so far.

We have heard generally favorable things about the overall look of the paper now. Commenters have said they feel it is easier to handle, it is easier to find things and that it generally is pleasing to look at and read. One reader described it as “pretty neat.”

One of the most dramatic changes has been the reduction in size of the paper. The overall width of the newsprint we are now using is 22 inches, down from 24, which basically translates into each individual newspaper page being about one inch narrower than before. This makes it easier to handle, but it presents our staff with a greater challenge to write and edit more carefully — that’s not a bad thing. It also can affect the size of the pictures we use. Overall so far readers seem to like this change.

One very interesting aspect of this is the perception that some might have that the actual type has changed. Actually, we have not changed any of the type sizes or styles, although we are using some of them differently. We did have one gentleman who asked if we could expand the type. To him it obviously appeared to be smaller than before even though its size had not changed.

You’ve also noticed that we have changed what we sometimes call the “headers” on our pages. These are the large graphic elements at the tops of pages that describe the content on that page or section. Many of these are now much larger than before. So far, we’ve heard that people like this because it makes things easier to find.

After these changes the biggest differences between the old and new Reflectors are the way our information is organized and packaged. We have put more local information toward the front of the paper, while we have put some other features toward the back. For example, we now have police news on Page A3, moved from Page B2 or B3, and we now have features such as Dear Abby, crossword, horoscope and bridge toward the back.

One reader responding to our new “Bless your heart” column said we made a big mistake putting Abby too near the sports section, because now husbands and wives “have to fight over who gets to have that section first.”

The new editorial or Opinion page did not escape scrutiny. One careful reader said:

“I do not like it.” Among other things he said the cartoon was too big, the public forum too low on the page and the opinions across the top were too big. Of course, he added at the end of his message: “But hey what do I know.”

Some other folks most certainly knew what they wanted. We had requests to reinsert three cities into our national weather map’s list on Page 2. So we added Buffalo, N.Y., Burlington, Vt., and Tucson, Ariz., back to the list. People just like to know the weather at places where they have ties. And we also changed our Sports section’s TV listing to help accommodate a reader who had trouble finding and seeing it in its new style and location. This reader suffers from macular degeneration and must read the paper with a magnifying glass and told us this feature was much easier to find the old way. We couldn’t bring back the old, but we did alter the new a bit to make it a little easier to read.

So that’s a sampling of how people feel about what we’re doing. We plan to keep tweaking the design so don’t hesitate to let us know what you think. You can contact me at aclark@reflector. com and you can certainly share your thoughts with the Bless your heart column by e-mailing blessyourheart@reflector.com or by calling (252) 329-9560.

Al Clark is executive editor of The Daily Reflector. Contact him at aclark@reflector.com or at (252) 329-9560.

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