LA Times asking readers about a smaller format paper

The Los Angeles Times is surveying readers for their feelings on several marketing messages that would announce "a possible change to a smaller format," Bloomberg News reports. The survey asks readers "about various marketing messages that could accompany a switch to a 'new, compact size.' One query presented the format as 'easier to hold and handle, and you no longer need to fold or maneuver the paper in order to read it.'”

From the story by Christopher Palmeri:

The survey suggests Tribune Publishing, spun off from Tribune Media Co. less than a month ago, is considering major changes at the 133-year-old Times, the largest of its 10 daily newspapers. The publication, now a broadsheet, is about 11 1/8 inches wide and 22 7/8 inches long. The survey showed a smaller format typical of some tabloids.

Nancy Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Times, said the newspaper isn’t considering changing to a tabloid format.

“We are conducting market research,” Sullivan said in an e-mail.

Bloomberg says the spin being tested on readers includes “All of the same great stories to discover in a new, compact size," "this new format offers the same high quality journalism and price you know and expect, with a more compact size” and "sit back and relax with our new format paper, its smaller size means a more comfortable and seamless reading experience.”