A NEW-look Scotland on Sunday is to be unveiled this weekend, the paper’s first major makeover in six years.
With new design, the revamped paper is to include a new, compact-sized news review and culture supplement, The Week.
Scotland on Sunday estimates its real sales in Scotland are just three per cent down on 12 months ago, with the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figure of 11.6 per cent down (between November 2010 and last November) betraying the fact that, in November 2010, some of its circulation included ‘bulks’ (free or heavily discounted), now no longer available.
Editor, Ian Stewart, told allmediascotland: “Our sales have been fantastic compared to our competition, so you play with [its design and structure] at your peril. But it has been a long time since we have changed the look of the paper and it was beginning to look a little dated.”
Editorially, a gap in the pages between national and international news – taken up by the likes of columnists – is to be closed. Business, currently a supplement, is to be taken in to the new-look main section, and the current Review section will be taken in to The Week.
Writers are going to be challenged to tackle subjects outwith their specialism. They will be invited to write for a new spread Stewart describes as “apropos of nothing, that is simply a fantastic read”.
He continued: “I want to get more voices into the paper. I feel there are large parts of society that don’t get reflected in newspapers.”
Stewart was appointed editor in June 2009, having previously been deputy editor of sister title, The Scotsman. He believes it is at least six years since the paper has been looked at as comprehensively and says work on the new look has been on-going for last eight-to-ten weeks.
All the sections, except for atHome and Spectrum are to have a new look.
Adds Stewart: “Although we are keeping our text fonts and headline fonts for news, we are looking at the range of weights we use. The headlines will be lighter, the whole thing will be more airy, more modern-looking. It will be a more simple palette of fonts.”
There is to be more colour too, including sections being colour-coded. A new font, Aachen, is to be introduced for headings.
The main section of the paper will remain broadsheet in size. The cover price will be £1.80, up 10p.
