Another detail provided by Moore further illuminates the reasons that a redesign was so overdue. Specifically, the content of the Post used to be downsized, literally, before it ever hit the page.
The reason for this move, predictably, had to do with money. During the '90s, the cost of newsprint began rising rapidly, causing Dean Singleton, the legendarily thrifty (that's a nice term for it) boss of MediaNews Group, which owns the Post, to search for ways to slash expenses. His solution was to literally make the paper smaller. Back then, most dailies were printed on what's called a 54-inch web; that's the width of four pages side by side as they roll off a press. Singleton opted for a 50-inch web, which saved cash by reducing each page's width by an inch. After testing this approach at two of his East Coast properties -- Passaic, New Jersey's North Jersey Herald & News and Easton, Pennsylvania's Express-Times -- Singleton brought the new method to the Post in 1996. Dozens of newspaper companies around the country subsequently followed his lead, for obvious reasons. In an interview with the Associated Press, Singleton said that the transition saved him $30 million over four years. "It's the easiest thing that I've ever done in this industry," Singleton boasted, declaring, "There are no drawbacks."
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Well, there was one. All of the Post's equipment was designed for a 54-inch web, "so we shrunk everything down," Moore says. The squeeze took place from side to side, not top to bottom, which is "why the photos were narrower, why everyone looked like coneheads, and why the pages looked so dense, even dirty," he reveals. "The letters were so much taller that they were practically touching each other. It was like taking thirteen pounds of something and putting it in a twelve-pound bag."
Now that the Post is being designed for its actual dimensions, not its size ten years ago, graphic quality and readability have taken major leaps forward, which more than justifies a 6 percent word loss. Moore says that after some initial grumbling, most of his employees concur. So, in a roundabout way, did a woman who recently phoned him. According to Moore, "She said, ŒI've got a complaint. I'm spending more time reading the Post than before, and now I'm always late for work.'"
Apparently, the words no longer get in the way.
Public piracy: In the May 6 edition of this column, three illicit broadcasters with vivid pseudonyms -- Wrench, Harvey Oswald and John Galt -- talked openly about their scheme to launch an unlicensed FM station called Capitol Underground Radio, despite having had a similar operation shut down by the FCC several years ago. Just as surprising, they announced that they hoped to finance the project by staging benefit concerts expressly for that purpose.
If the first of these fundraisers is any indication, the trio plans to lie low in plain sight. The three-day extravaganza, taking place June 18 through 20 at the Construct Creative Art Space, 3519 Brighton Boulevard, sports a lineup dominated by local acts who'll no doubt earn plenty of airtime when Capitol Underground Radio turns on its equipment. The Pirate Sygnl -- an appropriate participant, to say the least -- will join the Symptoms, Bailer and the Dojo on the first night; Man Alive, the Sleepers, the Very Hush Hush and Orbit Service are among those to be highlighted during night two; and the third night is slated to feature the Susceptibles, 10 Second Epic, Half Blind and loads of their pals. Information about start times and ticket prices can be found at www.denverradio.org.
Shortly after this bash, it should be a good day to dial.
