Trib buries news in redesign test

The new face of the Chicago Tribune is taking shape, as staffers at the newspaper put the finishing touches on a prototype set for a test run in the next few weeks. A version under consideration devotes the paper's front section to consumer-oriented and entertainment features. Local, national, international and business news is consolidated in the second section. Weather leads the third section, which also includes comics and classifieds, while the sports section is converted to a tabloid format. It's not clear how many of these changes will make it into the final version of the prototype, which a spokesman calls a "work in progress." But aspects of the prototype that prove popular with readers are likely to find their way into a full-scale redesign of all editions of the paper, which Tribune expects to debut by September. Tribune Co. Chief Operating Officer Randy Michaels has ordered redesigns of all the Chicago-based media company's papers — along with cuts in editorial output and staff — in a bid to trim costs as circulations decline and advertising revenues plummet. Newly appointed Editor Gerould Kern has spent the past six years at Tribune focusing on cost-cutting. Among potential cost-saving moves: sharing more content among Tribune-owned papers and using more news wire copy, he says. Relying on the wires is a significant departure for the Tribune, which once called itself the "World's Greatest Newspaper" and has covered national and international news with its own staff throughout its history. Mr. Kern defends the strategy, saying it frees up reporters to do more local coverage.