On March 9 2012, the Cape Argus officially changed its format and added a morning edition. The broadsheet is now only available in a size at about half of what it used to be, and the layout has been given a visually stimulating modernisation. We caught up with executive editor, Gasant Abarder, to find out more.

The new Cape Argus sums up its new product with the payoff line:

Your favourite daily newspaper in a revolutionary new format.

When I first caught a glimpse of the new Cape Argus, I was immediately thrown back to a time in my life when I would catch the Tube to work in London.

I had two hours of every day of the week to kill because this was also before smartphones became popular. In fact, the first iPhone was only brought out during my time on Mud Island.

I quickly observed that everyone picked up their copies of whatever newspaper they preferred to read when they got to the Tube station.

They came in what is often referred to as the “tabloid” size, although they contained real news, so it took a while for me to believe them.

That’s when I discovered that the size of these products was actually awesome, and I started reading the newspaper again.

Not just because it was a convenient size for the Tube, but also because, overall, I preferred the compact nature and feel of the product.

The new Cape Argus isn’t the only broadsheet that’s available in this size in South Africa, but like executive editor, Gasant Abarder, says:

After 155 years of bringing the news to Capetonians we are positioning ourselves for the next 155 years.

The South African daily broadsheet industry has been under pressure recently because of the significant hold the online news industry has begun to take.

They lost about 90 000 buyers over the past year, according to the latest quarterly data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation. That reflects a drop in circulation of almost seven per cent, year on year, for the fourth quarter.

This trend would correspond to what’s happening internationally, too. And this week we learned that South Africa is the “seventh-biggest source of online advertising revenue for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s website, BBC.com.”

Ster-Kinekor also announced this month that they had officially stopped all their newspaper advertising.

Times are indeed changing before our eyes, and Abarder knew something needed to be done in order to stay competitive.

Charlize has already had her first cover…

Although the change to the size of the Cape Argus is the most significant thing, it has also changed on the inside. This, Abarder says, is to stay on par with international trends, the likes of which you might see in The Daily Telegraph, for example.

They’ve expanded the features section, added more in-depth sports coverage and analysis, and done something they’ve described as the “Exciting graphic treatment of news of the day.”

The weather has also experienced a refresh and now boasts its own page.

The other significant change is that the early edition is now available before you’ll get to work, with the afternoon edition significantly updated as the news continues to flow throughout the day.

What’s noteworthy here is that this will allow the paper to attract the early morning public transport commuters like your guy on the bus from Tableview, or the lady who catches a taxi.

News of the violence in Grabouw greeted readers this morning…

Newspaper sellers around the City told me that people are enjoying the new format, and they expected more people to buy the newspaper because of the changes. It’s still far too early to tell if demand will increase significantly though, but Abarder is jubilant at the prospect.

Abarder’s day has also changed somewhat because of the morning edition, and he now boasts new operating hours as a result.

Subscribers to the weekend editions of the paper can also expect the afternoon edition of the Cape Argus to be delivered to them for free.

The overall reaction from readers seems to be mixed thus far. Some approve, and others have complained that they don’t like it. Either way, it’s an adjustment we all have to get used to.

You should try and get yourself a copy. You might enjoy it.

[Source: IOL]