It would be glib, not to say wrong, to say that all the US newspaper industry’s woes are encapsulated in the astonishing LA Times front page, right. But at least some of them are on show, no?

The amazing thing about this page, grabbed from the wonderful newsdesigner.com, is that it’s a redesign, first unveiled yesterday. And yet it still looks like something from a bygone age. Or the New York Times, which gets away with it just because you kinda assume it hasn’t redesigned since 1938 and there’s Tradition surrounding it, or a union agreement, or something.

Now, I know we have cultural differences ‘n’ all, and that US newspaper readers probably wouldn’t stand for something looking like the Guardian or Marca hitting their driveways in the morning. But I’m still amazed that this, as far as the designers on this respected, big city daily, with aspirations (I’m told) to be a big national, is as good as it gets.

Click on the image to get a better look. Go on. A cacophony of typefaces. Some in caps, some not. A huge number of headlines - although, unlike many US papers, at least they seem to be giving up on the Up Down Caps On Every Initial Letter style. Why’s the main pic so small?

Look inside the paper, and the Sunday and weekend editions sport an easier, more European look. But British eyes would be astonished by the number of ads on any given inside page, the lack of colour, and the huge top to bottom runs of close type, unbroken by so much as a pickout quote. The impression: this is Serious Reading, and they’re going to make damn sure you know it. To my eyes, it’s the encapsulation of all that’s wrong with Big Media: impenetrable, a bit stuck up, bound by rules, fussy, uninterested in helping you digest the day’s news.

Is the grammar of US newspaper design so different to here that American readers find this readable, easily digested, attractive, in a way we couldn’t here? Maybe so, judging by some complaints that there are fewer front page stories now. Although I’m not sure if some of the comments on a Washington Monthly blog post are being sarcastic, either…

“And headlines, in the main section no less, where most of the words aren’t even capitalized? That’s the very essence of second-rate.”

Jings. What? Seriously? But maybe this is not entirely an American thing… take a look at the same site’s snaps of the St Petersburg Times and you see a much more modern looking paper, with bolder use of pictures and a sane approach to headlines.

American friends: help me, I am confused. Is the new LA Times front page sucky, or are my lazy European eyes just not used to having to work so hard?

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