MONROE - Beginning with Monday's edition, The Monroe Times newspaper will undergo a series of changes - some that readers will notice and some they won't.
Printing of the daily newspaper will be shifted from the Times office to the Janesville Gazette's new printing facility. To accommodate this move, the size of the newspaper will change.
The newspaper will be about 2 inches shorter in length and width, bringing the Times in line with the new industry standard size. The national trend - to address rising paper costs while holding the cost to readers - is to print a paper that is slightly smaller in size.
"The smaller paper will be something that will take a little getting used to, even for me," Times General Manager Carl Hearing said. "But I think after a short time, readers will feel like I do - that the smaller newspaper is easier to handle and more convenient for readers."
The Times' design will be modified only slightly to fit the new page size. Content and text sizes will not be changed. The Times will continue to published in two sections daily, and the location of familiar pages (Record, Local, Life, etc.) will not change.
"We have worked to make this conversion as seamless as possible for the readers," Times Editor Jeff Rogers said. "We have maintained the consistency of where readers can find their favorite pages and their favorite features. Nothing in that regard will be any different."
While the change in printing location has necessitated a series of alterations to work procedures and deadlines at the Times, the newspaper will continue to be delivered to in-city racks at noon on Monday through Friday and home delivery schedules will remain the same.
"We are still an afternoon newspaper, and readers should not notice any long-term differences in when and where they can get the Times," Hearing said. "In a perfect scenario, readers won't notice any short-term differences, either. But I appreciate our customers' patience in advance if we experience glitches as we adjust."
Some news deadlines will be different, Rogers said. Deadlines for obituaries, for example, are earlier but already have been in place for about a month. Reporters and editors also have been working with new schedules for a few weeks to prepare for the changes.
"We will have a lesser ability to get breaking news and photos into the afternoon paper from events that occur in the morning," Rogers said. "But the reality is that breaking news doesn't happen all that often at 8 or 9 in the morning. When it does, we will do what we do already, which is post our stories and photos online (www.themonroetimes.com) as soon as we have them ready."
Hearing is excited about what the changes will mean to the print quality of the newspaper.
"The press at the Times is nearly 50 years old and was originally designed to print with just black ink," he said. "Even with modifications over the years, the size and configuration has limited the amount of color we can print each day for both editorial and advertising content. It has also presented challenges in consistently producing clear, sharp color photos.
"We will now be able to print full color on all pages if we choose to do so, and the quality of photos and print in general will improve."
Rogers said there is a likelihood the Times soon will utilize this capability to print more local photographs - both generated by the Times and submitted by readers - in color.
As a result of the changes, three full-time position and four part-time positions will be cut at the Times. One full-time position is being transferred to the Janesville plant.
Printing of the daily newspaper will be shifted from the Times office to the Janesville Gazette's new printing facility. To accommodate this move, the size of the newspaper will change.
The newspaper will be about 2 inches shorter in length and width, bringing the Times in line with the new industry standard size. The national trend - to address rising paper costs while holding the cost to readers - is to print a paper that is slightly smaller in size.
"The smaller paper will be something that will take a little getting used to, even for me," Times General Manager Carl Hearing said. "But I think after a short time, readers will feel like I do - that the smaller newspaper is easier to handle and more convenient for readers."
The Times' design will be modified only slightly to fit the new page size. Content and text sizes will not be changed. The Times will continue to published in two sections daily, and the location of familiar pages (Record, Local, Life, etc.) will not change.
"We have worked to make this conversion as seamless as possible for the readers," Times Editor Jeff Rogers said. "We have maintained the consistency of where readers can find their favorite pages and their favorite features. Nothing in that regard will be any different."
While the change in printing location has necessitated a series of alterations to work procedures and deadlines at the Times, the newspaper will continue to be delivered to in-city racks at noon on Monday through Friday and home delivery schedules will remain the same.
"We are still an afternoon newspaper, and readers should not notice any long-term differences in when and where they can get the Times," Hearing said. "In a perfect scenario, readers won't notice any short-term differences, either. But I appreciate our customers' patience in advance if we experience glitches as we adjust."
Some news deadlines will be different, Rogers said. Deadlines for obituaries, for example, are earlier but already have been in place for about a month. Reporters and editors also have been working with new schedules for a few weeks to prepare for the changes.
"We will have a lesser ability to get breaking news and photos into the afternoon paper from events that occur in the morning," Rogers said. "But the reality is that breaking news doesn't happen all that often at 8 or 9 in the morning. When it does, we will do what we do already, which is post our stories and photos online (www.themonroetimes.com) as soon as we have them ready."
Hearing is excited about what the changes will mean to the print quality of the newspaper.
"The press at the Times is nearly 50 years old and was originally designed to print with just black ink," he said. "Even with modifications over the years, the size and configuration has limited the amount of color we can print each day for both editorial and advertising content. It has also presented challenges in consistently producing clear, sharp color photos.
"We will now be able to print full color on all pages if we choose to do so, and the quality of photos and print in general will improve."
Rogers said there is a likelihood the Times soon will utilize this capability to print more local photographs - both generated by the Times and submitted by readers - in color.
As a result of the changes, three full-time position and four part-time positions will be cut at the Times. One full-time position is being transferred to the Janesville plant.