The first changes will appear in tomorrow’s Saturday Guardian, with a revamped Weekend magazine introducing a host of lively new regular features alongside existing popular content, says the Guardian.
New content will include a weekly column by writer and commentator Sophie Heawood, a satirical ‘modern tribes’ column by Catherine Bennett and a regular food column for busy people by former Masterchef winner and Wahaca restaurateur Thomasina Miers. Musician and writer Cerys Matthews will become Weekend’s very own ‘Doctor Crotchety’, prescribing playlists for key moments in life, while Pretty in Pink actor Molly Ringwald joins the magazine as an advice columnist. Laura Barton takes the wheel as motoring writer, with the occasional celebrity guest, and US graphic novelist Chris Ware begins a new serial, The Last Saturday.
Melissa Denes, editor of Weekend, said: “We've added new voices and dip-in elements at the front of the magazine, and improved our back section, with stronger photography, sharper design, and a range of new columnists. We’ve aimed to keep as much as we can of the things we know our readers love, and to squeeze in that little bit extra - to give them more inspiration and enjoyment alongside our in-depth features, interviews and great first-person writing."
The new Journal pages will debut in the paper on Tuesday 16 September and will appear up to four times a week. Overseen by Jonathan Freedland, Guardian News & Media’s executive editor, opinion, Journal will incorporate comment, leaders, letters and some reviews alongside a new regular “long read” feature.
The new long reads will be edited by Jonathan Shainin, who recently joined the Guardian from the New Yorker where he was news editor. The first will appear on Tuesday 16 September. The long reads will be between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length and will showcase a wide range of in-depth analysis and essays, as well as detailed profile pieces and on-the-ground reportage. Written by a range of guest contributors, as well as some of the Guardian’s most popular writers and columnists, the pieces will cover politics, both domestic and international, culture, science, technology and everything in between, say the publishers.
Jonathan Freedland said: “The new Journal section will strengthen the heart of the Guardian newspaper, providing a new home for our most reflective journalism. We’re very excited about our plans for long reads, both in the paper and online, and I’m thrilled that Jonathan Shainin has joined us from the New Yorker to get this new venture off the ground.”
In addition to this new content, a design refresh across the Monday to Saturday newspapers will begin from Saturday 13 September. For the first time, design elements from the Guardian’s digital platforms will be echoed in the print edition, helping to harmonise the Guardian’s new design language across all platforms.
Alex Breuer, the Guardian’s creative director, said: “We’ve been evolving a new design language and brand identity to reflect the fact that the Guardian is now a global entity. Up until now the focus has been on our digital platforms, but we’ve now adapted this to work cohesively with our distinct print design. We know many of our readers consume the Guardian across both print and digital, and this new look adds brings a seamless, consistent and familiar experience wherever and however people choose to read our content.”
The Guardian’s new-look will be promoted through a five-week marketing campaign, which will once again use the ‘Own the Weekend’ strapline to champion Guardian News & Media’s weekend content. Devised by award-winning creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), the campaign - an evolution of previous Own the Weekend iterations - will encourage readers to create a lasting habit of buying the Guardian and The Observer through a new 90-second film to be shown in cinemas, in addition to preroll on YouTube, 4OD and SkyGo. The new film will be supported by a print and out of home campaign, as well as a range of activity on social media.
