Saturday compact permanent

A four-month trial period of a Saturday compact edition has been so well received by readers of the Press and Journal , Aberdeen, that it is to become a permanent feature.

And the regional daily broadsheet has introduced on Saturdays a new 16-page pullout seven-day guide to TV and radio in response to readership demand.

The new compact format was launched on 7 August and immediately saw sales rise by up to 7,000 copies on Saturdays.

An in-paper questionnaire seeking readers’ views on the new format brought in almost 4,000 responses – the vast majority of them firmly in favour.

Editor Derek Tucker said: “The research showed that most people felt we had kept our promise that the quality of coverage would remain the same as in our Monday to Friday broadsheet version, while many commented on the compact being much easier to handle.”

By Hamish Mackay