Room for improvement

Dear UKPG, as we used to know and love it… so I’ve renewed my
subscription for this? I’m amazed that you didn’t change the masthead
to Hacks ‘R’ Us, judging from the new laddish tone. An open crotch on
the front page…. What next?

I love white space as much as the
next typographical anorak, but what’s with all the empty columns and
blocks of white all over the place? Handy for jotting down the shopping
list, of course, but difficult when you’re teaching students how to
make pages that look good and fit.

Maybe it’s wonderfully stylish
to you, but looking back at the different incarnations of the esteemed
organ over the past 20-odd years, I’m not convinced.

I suspected
you were dumbing down, but the piece on the death knock was really
plumbing the depths. “Any death knock stories you’d like to share with
us?” you ask.

I’ve interviewed plenty of people who have just
lost their nearest and dearest and I hope that I’ve dealt with them
with due respect. So, no, I won’t share and I don’t want a daft badge
saying Hug Me I’m a Hack. I’m a journalist and I’ll hug myself.

Stephanie Ferguson Senior lecturer Department of Journalism University of Central Lancashire