Revamps by incoming editors are common. So there is nothing surprising about the new editor of the Brighton Argus introducing a fresh newspaper to his readers today.
But my hat is off to Mike Gilson for having produced a much better looking paper after having spent just seven weeks in the chair.
The front page is a vast improvement, with a new typeface, the adoption of an upper-and-lower case splash headline, and much cleaner lines than before. And the same is true of the inside design. In layout terms, it’s a winner. It has the appearance of a mid-market “compact” rather than a down-market “tabloid”.
As for the content, although outsiders may find its call for action to “save our seafronts” somewhat strange, it will be very popular with residents and local business owners who have become increasingly concerned about the decades of decline.
For instance, a long section of the seafront running from Brighton’s pier towards Kemp Town is in such a state that it has been fenced off for months. The walkway running parallel to Madeira Drive is closed to people because it is too dangerous.
But the Argus’s campaign is not confined to Brighton. The paper’s south coast circulation area is huge, so it is raising awareness about the deterioration of all the seafronts from Hastings to Bognor.
Less sure-footed, however, was Gilson’s decision to run a piece by the prime minister, David Cameron, during a general election campaign.
Given that the city’s Pavilion constituency has a Green MP, and that the neighbouring constituencies of Hove and Kemp Town are marginals, I think it will be a viewed as a free hit for the Conservatives.
Although Cameron was ostensibly greeting the revamp - remarking that the Argus is “a fantastic local newspaper” (really? how does he know what it is?) - he uses the piece to urge readers to vote Tory.
That aside, there were other things to appreciate, not least the quantity of the content. There was plenty to read, much more than of late. The 64-page main section included a 12-page guide, and there was also a 24-page property supplement.
Gilson took the opportunity to introduce himself to readers with a column in which he extolled the virtues of the city of Brighton and Hove:
“We have everything - the landscape, the sea, the weather, the fun, the food, the nightlife, the pier... but more importantly the delicious kookiness, the thinking the unthinkable, the celebration of diversity, the sights and sounds that few others can match”.
A bit of a gush, but it does reflect the change in the city in recent years. I recall Keith Waterhouse’s famous description of Brighton as “a town that always looks as if it is helping police with their inquiries”.
It did, but it doesn’t any longer. And Gilson - a man who previously edited the Belfast Telegraph as well as papers in England - has clearly caught the new atmosphere of the city.
But will it work? Will the revamp revive the Argus’s fortunes? As I pointed out two weeks ago when writing about its 135th anniversary, its print sales are poor and it has not built a large enough online audience.
Its owners, Newsquest/Gannett, have responded to declining profits by cutting away at its editorial staff. It is lucky to benefit from free copy supplied by students at Brighton Journalist Works, which runs an NCTJ-accredited training course.
One area Gilson will need to improve is the quality of the remote subbing. Day after day there are too many errors.
In yesterday’s announcement of the revamp, for instance, his own letter contained a typo: “we belief it benefits our communities”. And today’s article introducing the Cameron piece says: “When the Argus was offered the opportunity of David Cameron writing for us, did not hesitate in saying yes”. Eh?
Cavils about subbing glitches aside, this is a fine revamp. If Gilson can keep this up, if Newsquest keep providing the resources, if the paper is properly promoted over the next month, then he might just stop the rot. And that, in current circumstances, would be a triumph.