Ally Palmer of Palmer Watson sends word of a couple European projects they’ve recently finished. Denmark’s Politiken on Oct. 1 and Norway’s Adresseavisen on Sept. 16. Both were pretty radical changes. Politiken has “reinvented” itself, moving away from conventional news reporting. And Adresseavisen converted from broadsheet to compact. Here are some pages and Ally’s words about each. There’s more info at palmerwatson.com

Politiken

One of the most influential newspapers in Europe, has taken a brave step into the future.

Denmark’s respected daily broadsheet recently introduced a Palmer Watson redesign - but also reinvented the way it handles and presents news. It has abandoned its traditional news reporting format and replaced it with a two-tier system which is intended to combine the qualities of an online newsfeed and a news magazine.

The aim is to give readers the best of both worlds. The “overview” area of the pages provides a functional, comprehensive news service, produced and presented in a compact, efficient way to keep it as up to date as deadlines allow.

The “insight” area is where selected issues are given the “Politiken treatment” – quality writing, rigorous reporting, serious analysis - illuminated by some of the best photo-journalism you will see in any newspaper.

Alongside this significant change of approach in response to the challenge of new media and the explosion of free papers in Denmark, the paper updated its look - but this was a rethink, not a redesign.

Adresseavisen

Norway’s oldest newspaper, has made a hugely successful transition to tabloid.

The compact revolution swept into Norway earlier this autumn. Adresseavisen, based in Trondheim, was one of four regional broadsheets to convert to tabloid on the same day: the others were Bergens Tidende, Stavanger Aftenblad and Faedrelandsvennen in Kristiansand.

Adresseavisen, 239-years-old, is one of Norway’s strongest brands. It dominates its region, reaching a huge percentage of the population. But already impressive readership statistics read even better after the switch from broadsheet to tabloid:  subscriptions are up by  5,300 taking circulation to 84,400. And the advertising volume is down 20% but the revenues are up 10%.