Vindy presses ahead in style

The Vindicator's New Press Rolls

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Behind the Scenes

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Behind the scenes Tuesday, March 2, at The Vindicator, creating the first edition of The Vindicator to use the new press.

YOUNGSTOWN

There is a new newspaper in town, and this is it.

Different, yet familiar and reliable: A new Vindicator debuts today, fresh off of a modern press and produced locally with state-of-the-art technology.

It’s brighter, bolder and has more color. It’s a new contemporary size, but the body type is actually larger. The Vindicator was the next-to-the-last newspaper in the nation that had used a wide size of paper.

The new press, the new Vindicator, as well as Neighbors and Vindy.com, represent The Vindicator Printing Company’s continued commitment to the Valley and downtown Youngstown. It’s a $10 million investment in the Valley: $6.8 million for equipment and $3.2 million for labor.

“We are proud to have been born and raised here,” said Publisher Betty H. Brown Jagnow. “We are committed to our ‘home.’ We are the only locally owned daily newspaper in the Valley.”

Preparation for this new era involved a lot of work over four years by employees in virtually every department. The company has 259 employees, 55 percent of whom belong to a union. In addition, the newspaper also has 315 independent carriers.

Longtime readers will recognize the new flag atop the front page as similar to the version that appeared on The Vindicator from 1986-90, with slight alterations to modernize the appearance.

Beyond the flag, the newspaper’s entire design has been retooled.

“The newspaper’s redesign and press installation were a significant commitment by this company to improve our print quality and readability, and to operate more efficiently. It was not simply a change for change’s sake,” Brown Jagnow said. “This is the latest chapter in our 141-year history of being the Valley’s most thorough and reliable news source. In that sense, nothing has changed.”

The main goal of the redesign was to maintain key aspects of the current design, yet refine and improve on others, said Robert McFerren, graphic-arts director, who supervised the redesign over a four-year period.

Another goal of this redesign was to make the newspaper easier for the readers to navigate. By combining the A and B sections into one, The Vindicator enables readers to gain more space for local news, and the national and international news package is presented in a more orderly and comprehensive way.

The Vindicator will have a daily entertainment and lifestyle section called Valley Life, which will offer broader coverage for our features readers.

All these changes are outlined on Page A11 today. We hope you enjoy reading the new Vindicator.