No Future

Managing Editor Joe Parham of the Macon (Ga.) News (circ. 14,773) thought he knew what the "Newspaper of the Future" would look like: departmentalized news (like a newsmagazine), and no newspaper-style headlines. Fortnight ago, for one edition only, Parham decided to let his readers peer into the future. The eight-page issue (price: 5-c- ) carried the news in seven departments (Local, State, National, Foreign, Sports, Markets, Life), topped stories in each department with drab, label-style heads (e.g., BRITAIN COAL STRIKE). Instead of the usual 24 stories on Page One, the News crowded in 39.

In a Page One box, Managing Editor Parham asked readers what they thought of the experiment. By last week the votes were 10 to i against the new look. Most readers found the headlineless paper dull, couldn't tell big stories from little ones. Complained one subscriber: "You have to read this paper to find out what's in it."

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