Helsingin Sanomat is to switch to tabloid-size format in January 2013

Sanoma News, the leading newspaper publisher in Finland, will publish its first tabloid issue on Tuesday, January 8th 2013

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By Ville Blåfield
     
      The Sanoma board of directors decided on Tuesday that Helsingin Sanomat will shift to tabloid as part of the renewal of its overall format and content.
      The first tabloid issue will be published on Tuesday, January 8th 2013.
      For productional and technical reasons, the paper will not be published on the day preceding the format change.
      In other words, the last broadsheet issue of Helsingin Sanomat will be published on Sunday, January 6th 2013.
      ”The reform is historically significant”, notes Mikael Pentikäinen, Senior Editor-in-Chief of Helsingin Sanomat.
     
The renewal is a part of the HS multi-channel development.
      ”A comprehensive and multi-channel product range will cater to the needs of all customer groups”, says Sanoma News CEO Pekka Soini.
      ”The tabloid format makes for a clearer structure in the entire paper and individual spreads”, notes Editor-in-Chief Pentikäinen.
      Pentikäinen promises further that the revamped newspaper will increasingly focus on the traditional strengths of Helsingin Sanomat. ”They are reliability, independence, versatility, diversity, and journalistic excellence”, says Pentikäinen.
     
The tabloid page size is half of the size of the current broadsheet. The format change has been researched and prepared for several years. The tabloid project was announced in February or this year, but in June the Board called a two-month timeout on the project, shifting the final decision to August.
      After the February announcement, feedback about the venture has been gathered from readers and advertisers.
      ”During the preparation, we have received lots of solid feedback from readers and advertisers. Based on that, I rest assured that the new HS will bring joy to a multitude of people,” enthuses Mikael Pentikäinen.
     
During the autumn, it will be possible to get familiar with test tabloids at events to be arranged in the capital region and in other large cities.
     
Pertinent questions asked by readers were also answered on Internet chatrooms last spring.
      Among them were the following:
      Will this mean Helsingin Sanomat goes down market and adopts a tabloid style?
      No. Helsingin Sanomat will remain a traditional quality daily newspaper focusing on news. The page size of Helsingin Sanomat will become more compact, but the paper will have more pages.
      Will there be less to read in the new, smaller Hesari
      No, not that, either. Hesari will certainly become more compact, but the paper will have more pages.
      Will we no longer be able to get the Sunday tabloid edition through our letter-box?
      Not a problem. The tabloid will not be thicker than the current broadsheet, as the paper will not be folded as many times as the current version during delivery.
      Is it going to be possible to fold the new paper up so as to use it for waste disposal?
      Yes. It will be possible to convert even the new Helsingin Sanomat into a biowaste bag.
      Are there going to be changes to the newspaper's structure?
      Not wholesale, no. The structure of the paper will remain mainly the same, but new content and supplements will be introduced. The Kuukausiliite monthly supplement and the weekly NYT supplement will be published as before. Moreover, the NYT supplement that appears with the paper on Fridays will also shift to tabloid size.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.8.2012
     


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Board of Sanoma calls two-month timeout on tabloid Helsingin Sanomat project (7.6.2012)
  Helsingin Sanomat is to adopt tabloid-size format from next year (28.2.2012)

See also:
  Tabloid Hesari moves prompt both fear and delight (6.3.2012)

Links:
  Sanoma News press release, 31.7.2012

VILLE BLÅFIELD / Helsingin Sanomat
ville.blafield@hs.fi