I am rather disappointed at the Daily efforts to improve its appearance this semester. The new front page looks absolutely horrible, and the changing appearance from day to day just shows that the new format is not working. Perhaps the editors at the Daily should have invested some time into researching a new layout before using the actual publication to test its effectiveness.

The new layout is just too bright and too fancy. Most successful newspapers in the United States don’t concentrate on fancy front pages, exotic fonts, or stylized graphics. Instead, they stick to what makes people read them day after day — good journalism and a professional look.

The Chicago Tribune doesn’t need a fancy “flag” or a Web page-style “chimney” to tell people where all their articles are. The New York Times started using color on their front page only recently. But why are these two newspapers the most read in the nation? Lots of information and good news stories. They concentrate on what’s important to their audience.

Granted, Ames isn’t one of the three biggest media markets in the nation, but the principles of journalism are the same. Identify what stories are important to students and write them. The current appearance of the Daily makes it look too much like a tabloid or a Web page. The new design only reduces the effectiveness and credibility of the articles found within and makes the paper harder to read.

Honestly, the edition of the Daily which I thought looked the best all year was the one that was printed on so-called “Black Tuesday,” when none of the computers worked. Stick to the basics and you’ll make a good product.

If I wanted to look at something every morning that looked like a giant pastel-colored Web page, I would just go to the Daily’s Web site.

Eric S. Vymyslicky

Freshman

Veterinary medicine