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In lieu of tagging it’s opinion pieces with the Pinko Commie Commentary tag, the Times has decided to signify it’s rhetoric with a complex series of left-aligned and justified columns.
“One of the recommendations of the [credibility] committee,” said Mr. Bodkin, “was making the distinction of what is a column and what is not a column.”
To judge by the sample layouts in the report, nearly everything is a column nowadays. The ragged-right treatment is extended to music, theater and other reviews, lest readers mistake A.O. Scott for a news reporter. The samples also show the ragged margin taking over “Reporter’s Notebook,” “Journal” and “Memo” pieces in the front section, where smooth margins previously prevailed.
The change will extend even to stories that run on the front page. Formerly, everything on the front was laid out with even margins, including columns—which then switched to ragged right after the jump.
So in case you left your news = right column justified theorem postulator at home, and are still not convinced, there’s more after the jump.
News has even edges; opinion has an uneven edge. Except, that is, on the opinion pages. There, the columns will be justified like news, as always.
Before the Times reader can be confused by that, though, the reader will have to spot the typographic treatments.
Mr. Bodkin said the change may not be that visible. “I think a lot of design is to address subconscious issues,” he said. “Even though people might not notice, they might recognize it subconsciously.
And from now on, any direct quotes by Bush running in the Times will be printed backwards and italicized.
Times Draws Ragged Line Between Fact and Opinion [NY Observer]
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