Orange County Register going to tabloid

The Orange County Register is studying a change to tabloid format after an internal task force review of money-saving options proposed the move along with several other changes., Editor & Publisher reports.

Terry Horne, president and publisher of the Santa Ana, Calif., daily, confirmed that the option is being reviewed and that prototypes will likely be created in the coming weeks or months. He said the proposal is one of several money-saving ideas that came out of a newspaper-wide review of cost-cutting measures in August by several "cross-departmental teams."

"It would be easier to read," Horne said about a tabloid approach. "It depends on what size tab, half a broad sheet or a long tab. You would have to determine the format."

The review comes just months after the Register, owned by Freedom Communications, reduced its broadsheet size from a 50-inch web to a 46-inch size in June.

"We are studying it, everyone is studying everything," said Horne. "Everything that might save money and hopefully appeal to readers more."

The tabloid review comes as the Register suffered a daily circulation drop from 284,613 to 250,724 for the six months ending March 31, 2008, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations' last FAS FAX report. The paper also went from 329,551 to 311,982 on Sunday during the same period.

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