Overhaul for compact Indo

INDEPENDENT Newspapers is planning to overhaul the compact edition of the Irish Independent to combat falling sales.

It involves a redesign to allow for longer stories and for priority to be given to the tabloid version of the paper in terms of deadlines.

It is understood the group wants to put a deadline of 9.45pm on the compact edition.

This would see it put it to bed shortly after RTÉ’s main evening news bulletin, which ends at 9.30pm.

An outside expert from London, Louis Jepp, has been called in to deal with the difficult transition.

Concerns were raised at management level when sales of the tabloid Irish Independent stalled at 50% of the total.

Sources said the figure was well below those expected when the decision was taken to go tabloid over 12 months ago.

Under the new plan, management want to get the tabloid to bed first, and they have rejected concerns this move would damage the paper’s long-term prospects.

Journalists and some senior executives disagree.

They argue 50% of readers have rejected the smaller format, which they have pointed out is a direct lift from the broadsheet, but with shorter stories.

They are concerned also the new paper wasn’t fully thought out and that management is now caught in a dilemma as a consequence of the rush to produce the new type of paper.

They have also expressed concern the Indo could see its market shrink further in what many regard as a bungled attempt to mimic the London ‘Indy’.

Last night, a spokesman for the group confirmed a redesign was taking place and that Louis Jepp has been called in as a consultant to the group.

The spokesman said this was not a “panic” reaction to the level of sales achieved by the compact version of the Independent.

“Management never expected the compact edition of the Irish Independent to match the achievement of the Indy and are quite happy with its performance,” he said.

It was geared to win greater readership among young people and to boost advertising and it has done both, he said.

“Serious unease” exists within the company about how the entire launch was handled, a well-placed source said last night.

Some senior editorial personnel and a number of senior executives in the group felt Ireland would not accept the compact in the way the British accepted the Indy because they were different markets.