Recently in guardian Category

(I know I said the last post would be the final one on the new Guardian - it seems I lied, but this is important stuff)

One of the things that provoked the loudest complaints about the Berliner Guardian (maybe I should just start calling it theguardian) was the removal of Doonesbury. There were some angry discussions about this over on the Editors blog (currently 179 comments on that post) and it seems that some of the Guardian staff were surprised by how many people were so strongly attached to a rather parochially American cartoon strip.

But these complaints haven't gone unheeded. A new post on the Editors blog announces that Doonesbury will return to G2 on Monday and that there will be a catch-up omnibus published on Friday.

See, this demonstrates the power of the Guardian's blogs. No other paper in the UK (maybe the world) has such close communication with its readers. Well done to the Guardian for listening to the readers, admitting its error and fixing things so quickly.

Now, I wonder if I can get them to run Opus for those of us who still miss Bloom County.

A couple of final points about the Guardian redesign before I start looking for something different to write about.

Firstly, circulation levels. One of the driving forces behind this redesign is (I assume) the Guardian's falling circulation figures over the last year. I realise that this is purely anecdotal evidence, but over the two days that the new format has been on sale I haven't seen any increase in people reading it on the tube.

And finally, I think that people who are complaining that the web site wasn't redesigned at the same time as the paper are being slightly disingenous. The amount of resource that the Guardian has put into this redesign has obviously been phenomenal. Trying to redesign the web site at the same time would have been madness.

In general, I think that the new format Guardian looks fabulous. It was, by far, the most interesting looking paper in the newsagent's this morning. The few niggles I mention below are only very minor and I fully expect to not be noticing them at all in a month's time.

• I'm not sold on the new masthead. The all lower case typeface makes it more like a style magazine than a serious newspaper.


• Love the new font in most of its different versions. The one version that I'm not sure about is the one used for the initial drop caps. It looks a bit thin and weedy to me.


• The subtle difference between the typesetting for news (justified) and comment (ragged right) is a great idea. Wonder how many people worked it out without themselves (I didn't).


• The use of colour and the reproduction of the photos is really impressive. Printing technology has come a long way since Today - just look at the massive double page photo on pages 20 and 21.


• The paper stock looks better quality than they were using last week - but not as good as they used for the preview edition on Saturday.


• My copy of the main paper had a few badly folded pages and my G2 was mis-cut. The new presses still have a few bugs to iron out.


• No Doonesbury! Oh well. I hope Trudeau has an RSS feed.

But to be honest, I'm not sure about the size. I used to fold the broadsheet in four and carry it under my arm. It now looks ridiculously small if I do that. And if I ony fold it in half it's too big and flappy. I'm sure I'll get used to it tho'.

And it's been really interesting following the new Editors' Blog. It's not often (if, indeed, ever) that you get such a detailed look into the workings of a national newpaper.

And while I'm talking about the new Guardian (face it, that's all I'm going to talk about today) it's worth pointing out that the digital edition is free for the next two weeks (until Sept 26th). This is partly to let people have a closer look at the new format and partly because the move to the Berliner format has obviously introduced a glitch or two.

It's well worth a look.

There's a special report about the new Guardian now available on the GU web site. It includes a PDF version of a preview edition that will apparently be in tomorrow's paper.

I haven't examined it closely yet, but on first glance it looks good. Of course the main change (the size) won't be really apparent until you hold it in your hands.

According to Technorati, this is currently the most authorative blog about the Guardian.

I expect that to change pretty quickly.

The Guardian has announced (free registration required) that it will relaunch in its new Berliner format from Monday 12th September.

Recently I've got out of the habit of buying a paper every day, but I've bought one twice in the last week or so and it reminded me how much I enjoy reading the paper on the tube in the morning. I'll certainly be picking up at least the first few copies in new format.

Update: Lloyd is understandably excited by this :)

George Monbiot on form as ever in today's Guardian.

Out of the bombings a national consensus has emerged: what we need in Britain is a renewed sense of patriotism. The rightwing papers have been making their usual noises about old maids and warm beer, but in the past 10 days they've been joined by Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian, Tristram Hunt in the New Statesman, the New Statesman itself and just about everyone who has opened his mouth on the subject of terrorism and national identity. Emboldened by this consensus, the Sun now insists that anyone who isn't loyal to this country should leave it. The way things are going, it can't be long before I'm deported.

And then later on

I don't hate Britain, and I am not ashamed of my nationality, but I have no idea why I should love this country more than any other. There are some things I like about it and some things I don't, and the same goes for everywhere else I've visited. To become a patriot is to lie to yourself, to tell yourself that whatever good you might perceive abroad, your own country is, on balance, better than the others. It is impossible to reconcile this with either the evidence of your own eyes or a belief in the equality of humankind. Patriotism of the kind Orwell demanded in 1940 is necessary only to confront the patriotism of other people: the second world war, which demanded that the British close ranks, could not have happened if Hitler hadn't exploited the national allegiance of the Germans. The world will be a happier and safer place when we stop putting our own countries first.

I've never understood patriotism. I love the UK, but I can't see what anyone gains from an unquestioning belief that your country is the best at everything.

Actually, thinking about it, I feel like a Londoner and I feel like a European. I don't particularly feel British.

My contract with Guardian Unlimited finishes at the end of the month. So I've been poking around looking for a new contract.

And it seems that I'll be moving from one large media to another one. I start work for the BBC out in White City in two weeks.