The Record, a 16,000 circulation daily owned by the Journal Register Co. in Troy, N.Y. will convert to tabloid Aug. 29. The paper's circulation has plummeted 45 percent in the last 10 years.

"What we're trying to do is make the paper more relevant to the people of Rensselaer County and the surrounding area," [Journal Register director of advertising and marketing Lee] Karlson said. "And clearly the more relevant the paper is, the more people will read it. ...

"Our advertisers have been very positive about it, so we believe this is a good direction for us to go in," she said.

... A switch to compact form for a medium-sized regional paper whose circulation has dropped to a little over 16,000 doesn't make much sense. It can still be locally delivered but that doesn't much matter because the difference in convenience between reading a broadsheet and reading a compact in the comfort of ones own home is minimal. It won't help commuters because most people in such an area in the US drive everywhere (reading the paper and driving a car are obviously not complementary actions). It could be sold at coffee shops or convenient stores but firstly, a free paper in such a situation will attract more people and secondly, many waiting in lines in such stores tend to pick up a paper, browse through it, and put it back without buying it, not helping circulation at all.