Well, I took the Guardian when I began my first teaching job at Manchester Regional College of Art in 1960. Toward the end of that decade we invited the Guardian's Brian Redhead to talk to our students about the print v TV debate, following Marshall McLuhan’s forecast that Typographic Man was dead.
I was introduced to the Weekly when I moved to Adelaide in 1989 and the digest of fine reporting on that thin paper was a must subscription, later enhanced by the typographic redesign by Pentagram/David Hillman in the mid-90s, making a contemporary look that complemented the intellectual content. Will I get used to the Time lookalike I just picked up from the magazine section in my local newsagent? I’ll probably have to.
I need my weekly fix of news and notes, Paul Evans wandering around Wenlock Edge, Peter Bradshaw's film guide and other bits and bobs before I get on to Gary Younge, the science reviews, a dash of UK news, plus the burning issues around the world.
The same content is hidden inside and as a graphic designer I can see the new layout is competently handled, but the Readers Digest/weekend colour supplement feel – the whole Americanised look – is a far cry from the British newspaper I loved.
