thenewnewmedia.com

Wits Journ Professor Anton Harber has more details (and dummy pages) from soon-to-be-launched newspaper, The Times.

I agree with his point about the Berlin-type format:

Pity they have not been able to go for the new compact size (somewhere between tabloid and broadsheet, like The Weekender).

Their choice of the two columnists who appear in the dummy (Justice Malala and David Shapiro), is impressive. Ray Hartley (el editoristo) has confirmed they are part of the line-up. I know David, and it’ll be interesting to read what he writes about.

There’s some comment around advertising, the business model behind the new paper, as well as more thoughts around the production process:

… in dummy editions, with fake ads, they do not have to face the curse of the tabloids: adverts which take up three-quarters of the page and leave only a few holes for copy to fill.

The major drawcard here is the existing base of 120 000 subscribers (it might be worth speculating that this could grow to 150 000 soon after launch?). With this potential readership, one would be tempted to say that The Times will succeed in the way Naspers’s Nova couldn’t. They both aim (aimed, in the case of Nova) at a similar, young, online audience. At least, the talk before the launch of Nova gave you that impression. The Nova product though (content, look and feel, ABSENCE OF A WEBSITE) wasn’t so convincing.

Anyone doubting The Times’ mission to succeed need only read this comment from Ray:

This is a serious investment which Johncom has made after taking into account the short to medium term costs. There is confidence that advertising will come to the party.

And here’s the clincher from Anton Harber:

… if they get the content just half-right, [The Times] can provide a formidable challenge to existing dailies.

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