Street-Porter unveils changes

Independent on Sunday editor Janet Street-Porter has unveiled a series of changes to the newspaper, including a colour magazine called Reality.

The 48-page magazine will have similar content to that of the current broadsheet section Real Life, which will cease to exist.

Street-Porter says: “I felt that the content was better suited and more attractive to the readers in an A4 format. It will still feature Dear Annie, Style Police, health and beauty, fashion and homes.”

The business section, currently folded into the sports section, will be pulled out to form a separate standalone broadsheet section made up of 12 pages.

In addition, the culture section has been expanded from 12 to 14 pages, and the review section and comment pages have been redesigned.

Street-Porter adds: “We feel that we are giving the reader better value for money. It’s a substantial investment from the board.”

She began working on the revamped Independent on Sunday after joining the newspaper in July 1999, first requesting extra investment from the board for the product changes last September.

Street-Porter denies that the changes to the Independent on Sunday, which will be rolled out from this week, will be accompanied by a price cut.

Marketing support will be provided by a TV ad, created by Euro RSCG, to run on Channel 4 for the next two weekends. The 10- and 20-second executions, which flag up the launch of Reality magazine, show a woman working in the gym and out for a night on the town.

The Independent on Sunday had a circulation of 249,548 for the six months ending January, down 1.86 per cent year on year.