The latest innovation to come out of the New York Times? Tweets in print.
Last week, the Times debuted a design overhaul of the A2 and A3 pages in the print edition of the newspaper. Previously, the pages had featured a corrections section, a summary of articles found throughout the paper, and a compilation of several news articles. Now, readers will find reporter tweets, video highlights, and the most popular posts from NYTimes.com.
In essence, it’ll be a cross-platform roundup that aims to bridge the newspaper’s print and digital presence.
“As we continue to invest and innovate in print, this redesign is a step toward creating a print newspaper for a digital era,” Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in a press release.
The move comes amidst a wider push by the news giant to reinvent itself in a digital age. In its January 2020 Report, an internal report focusing on the future of the newspaper, the Times reported that its newsletter roundup briefings are among the most successful products it has launched. “We need more innovations like the briefings,” the report says. “We have dozens of regularly appearing features built for the print edition but not enough for a digital ecosystem.”
In a February profile of the news giant, Wired reports revealed there is “unease over the possibility that when (or if) the Times emerges from its digital rebirth, it might be scarcely recognizable.”
According to Wired, the company’s goal is to reach $800 million in digital revenue by 2020, a 60% increase from its reported current digital revenue of $500 million. That’s how much it would take to fund the Times operation fully—with or without a print edition—says the management team.