Germany's 'Gray Lady' goes color 02/10/2007 00:00

2 October 2007

Frankfurt (dpa) - Germany's leading daily the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung breaks with tradition this week by publishing a colour photograph on its front page for the first time.

Starting on Friday, the conservative newspaper will have a new layout that will also see the scrapping of Gothic script for the headlines of editorials.

The aim is to make the national daily "fresher and more appealing," said co-publisher Werner D'Inka.

In addition to daily colour photographs, the changes also include a new typeface for story headlines and an end to dividing lines between the columns.

The paper traditionally does not print photographs on its cover, but used black-and-white images on 33 occasions during major events such as the September 11 attacks in the US and German unity in 1990.

The last time a front-page photograph appeared was when Benedict XVI was elected pope in 2005.

The newspaper says the modern appearance is intended to make the traditionally sober-looking broadsheet more appealing to readers. But not all of them are happy at the idea.

In a letter to the editor in Tuesday's edition, one regular reader accused the newspaper of kow-towing to modern tastes.

"I am convinced," he wrote, "that I am not the only reader who is embittered and disappointed."

"I'm not impressed," wrote another reader. "In fact, I feel the opposite."

Analysts said the move could be linked to the paper's declining circulation in the fiercely competitive German newspaper market.

The FAZ, as the newspaper is commonly known, has seen sales slip nearly 4 per cent in the past two years to 365,575 per day.

In comparison, its main rival among the quality dailies, market leader Sueddeutsche Zeitung, has seen its circulation increase marginally to 441,500.

DPA

Subject: German news