Copyright © 1998 by the Boston Phoenix, Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban Eye: Hark, the new Herald

Coming Monday, in full color

By Dan Kennedy

It's always when Bill Clinton's having the most trouble keeping his pants zipped up that the Republicans are at their least critical. After all, when your enemy is in the process of skewering himself, the dumbest thing you can do is pile on.

So it is with the Boston Herald, which this week launches a $2 million advertising campaign -- the biggest in its history -- to promote a striking redesign, the introduction of front-page color photos, and a substantial expansion of its news hole. The new look debuts on Monday.

As it turns out, this effort, two years in the making, takes place just as the Herald's giant cross-town rival, the Boston Globe, is in the throes of self-inflicted agony over the forced resignation of one of its star columnists, Patricia Smith, and the controversial suspension of another, Mike Barnicle.

In other words, the Herald's timing couldn't be better. But ask publisher Pat Purcell about that and his reply is laconic. "There are probably some people who are disappointed and upset at the Globe because of what they've done," he allows. "If there's some benefit to us, I can't help that."

Last Friday afternoon, the Herald's top newsroom managers -- editor Andy Costello, managing editor for news Andrew Gully, and managing editor for features Kevin Convey -- unveiled prototypes of the new Herald. Like Purcell, they don't want to talk about how the Globe's meltdown might benefit them. Rather, they want to talk about what they call the "rethinking" of a paper that's widely viewed as a sensationalistic tabloid, but that is in fact a more-than-respectable number-two paper that's especially strong on city news, politics, and sports.

For those who like the Herald's brassy banner headlines (personal favorite: LUMBER JERK, about the Canadian lumber-truck driver who smashed into a bridge support on the Central Artery a couple of years ago), the change may be disappointing. The new design, which looks a little like USA Today adapted to the tabloid format, simply doesn't allow for such touches. But Costello says focus-group surveys have made it clear that screaming headlines have saddled the Herald with an image that's more sensational than it deserves.

The redesign, carried out with the help of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, and the use of color photos on the front and on many inside pages are what will catch most people's eyes. The new body type, in particular, is far more readable.

But there's journalistic substance to the makeover as well. Pages two and three will be named "Herald Focus." Page two will be dedicated to reader-participation columns on subjects such as commuting, health, consumer news, and spirituality, competing with similar columns the Globe already publishes. Page three will feature nonbreaking local news: profiles, stand-alone photos, trend stories, and the like. The idea, say the editors, is to make page three a showcase for good writing and photography.

All told, the Herald is adding nine ad-free pages a day, with boosts coming in local-news coverage, arts and lifestyle (each of which will get its own section front), and business. About a dozen employees have been added -- mostly in design, but a few reporters, too. Still, some at the chronically understaffed Herald say privately that they're worried about increased workloads and earlier deadlines, which could keep some late-breaking news out of the paper. Gully admits the deadlines could be a problem, at least at first.

Of course the Herald isn't going to catch up to the Globe; nor do Purcell and company expect to. With a 472,668-to-289,427 lead in daily circulation, and a 748,326-to-185,626 margin on Sundays, the Globe has long since established itself as New England's dominant newspaper.

Purcell's not setting any circulation goals -- at least not in public. An extra 50,000 papers will be on the streets every day next week, and he's redoubling efforts to boost home circulation, which accounts for less than 20 percent of the Herald's sales. But, he concedes, "habits die hard around here."

Purcell, who bought the Herald from his mentor, Rupert Murdoch, in 1994, has been pouring resources into his baby. He purchased the building from Murdoch earlier this year for $11 million and spent some $10 million on upgrading his presses to accommodate color. It's a big risk for the owner of the region's largest independent daily, one of the few that remain in Massachusetts.

"Let's hope it works," he says of his spending spree. He pauses and adds: "It will work."