A new era for trusted mastheads

WELCOME to an exciting new era for the Mercury and Sunday

Tasmanian — as we change the size of our newspapers to the compact tabloid format used by some of the world’s biggest circulating mastheads.

This change from today to the new 35cm-high format is the fourth major format change in the 165-year history of the

Mercury, which was first published in 1854 as a broadsheet. It became a tabloid for the first time in 1942, ahead of being converted back to a broadsheet in 1958 — and then a tabloid format again from 1993.

We have also taken the opportunity refresh our design, and our new page layouts will actually allow a higher number of stories to be published. For instance, there are 50 stories in today’s news section. Last Monday there were 30.

A number of other Australian newspapers have already made the change to the new format, which is very similar to the New York Post’s size.

In Darwin, the NT News changed to this compact tabloid format in early August, and its editor Matt Williams said readership and circulation have increased: “There are more stories and it’s easier to hold.”

The editor of the Mercury and Sunday Tasmanian Chris Jones said the only constant in the masthead's long history had been its commitment to serving its readers and Tasmania — and this would never change.

“We are confident the newlook newspapers will ensure we continue to be Tasmania’s biggest and most trusted news voice for many years to come,” Mr Jones said.