Two leading Australian newspapers - The Age in Melbourne and the Sydney Morning Herald - made their format switch today, shrinking from broadsheet to the tabloid shape.
The titles, both published by Fairfax, managed the transition "sedately" and "underhwhelmingly", according to journalism lecturer Jill Singer.
"It was staid old business as usual," she wrote, calling it "a shame" because it was an missed opportunity "to inject some energy" into the titles.
Another commentator, Andrea Carson, mused on whether the smaller size would lead to a diminution in quality but concluded, on the evidence of the first day, "it is impossible to make any strong statements about whether size matters."
Readers were not so reticent. Most of the comments left on the Sydney paper's website were negative.
The switch of shape is aimed at stopping the slide in print circulation. Its loss of sales is matched by a considerable decrease in ad revenue, which has necessitated cuts. In June last year, Fairfax decided that 1,900 staff should go.
Sources: AP via Google/The Conversation/Nieman Journalism Lab
