A Bigger Yankee
Posted by Kirk M on 01 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Info, Life at home
I received the latest Yankee Magazine titled "Snow Days" a few days ago and much to my surprise it was not the same digest size magazine I had grown used to over the years. Half again as large in size lengthwise and approximately 2 inches taller, I found myself holding what I would consider to be a normal size magazine in my hands. No more digest size Yankee it seems. Imagine that now would ya'. Another new change is that the Yankee is now published six times a year. So just to show those who haven't seen the new issue yet, I snapped a quick comparison picture with my trusty old 'point and shoot' Kodak digital to show the difference between old and new. 
I have to say that I liked it immediately and with the little girl on the front of the twilight blue cover, in her cap and scarf gazing up into the snowflake laden sky, it gave the new Yankee the flavor of an old Life Magazine or The Saturday Evening Post cover. You know…the ones with the Norman Rockwell prints on the cover. The new editor, Mel Allen, talks about the new change in layout in the editor's letter entitled A Letter to Our Readers that appears on page 8 in this latest issue. He also presents his own unique insight into what he expects some of the initial responses to the changes might be in a Behind the Scenes at Yankee article at the website. I can easily understand why he might think this way what with New Englanders being "set in their ways" as they are and I have to admire the man for trying to answer these anticipated "readers comments". Still, I do believe the change is a delightful and necessary one. It's always seemed to me that the crew at Yankee were trying to stuff an awful lot of content into digest size magazine. For my own two cents worth, despite all the extra room for Yankee's beautiful photos to live on and the easier to use table of contents page and all the other new stuff in the layout, the one beef that I had (and so did my wife) was that the text was still too darn small to be read comfortably. The only reason I say this is simply because I have to believe that the majority of Yankee readers are not of the age group that have naturally sharp, young eyesight but more of the age group that stow reading glasses in just about every room in the house (like yours truly). I'm not asking for a large print edition here, just up the text a half point or two that's all. Anyway, since Mr. Allen was asking for feedback, I sent him one although, with all due respect to him and the crew at Yankee, I don't really figure on any result. Realistically, I would imagine the text size is ok for most folks. I think that this is one change to one old venerable magazine that is for the better.
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3 Comments »
on 07 Jan 2007 at 12:38 pm 1.Just Thinkin’ » Blog Archive » A reply from Yankee Magazine said …
[...] I recently posted an article concerning Yankee Magazine going to a new and larger layout. This was a major change from the digest size Yankee that everyone had been seeing on the store shelves and receiving at their doorstep since somewhere around WWII when the Yankee had to be reduced in size due to the paper shortage. An excerpt from the issue’s “A Letter to Our Readers” explains about the size change of the new issue: Yankee was first published in September 1935, and it was the same size as the one you’re holding now. The vision of Yankee’s founder and editor, Robb Sagendorph, was simple: Bring New England to life. The magazine was reduced in size only out of necessity — paper was in short supply during World War II. Our digest size made us unique for many years, and I think we were loved all the more for our idiosyncratic look. [...]
on 05 Mar 2007 at 7:58 pm 2.Debbie Herrington said …
I also HATE the new format and will not renew my subscription. I loved the unique compact size of the old magazine. It could easily slip into my purse, unlike any other publication, so it travelled with me constantly. The “Snow Days” issue has been sitting on my night stand, barely read, for 2 months now. It is barely read because I hate the thin paper, smaller and lighter font, and the fact that the print from the other side of the page shows through, making it very difficult to read. There is way too much white space, which makes the layout appear awkward. I found much of the new content uninteresting. I find the photographs less compelling - perhaps it’s the quality of the paper. I enjoyed the beautiful, vibrant photographs of the old format much, much more, despite the smaller format. I sincerely hope that Yankee Magazine retreats from this horrible blunder and restores the the format so many of us loved.
on 06 Mar 2007 at 8:25 pm 3.KirkM said …
You seem to be among what appears to be the current (published online type) majority of opinions of the new layout. It’s still a work in progress though as I understand it.
I’m curious…if they improved the layout of the content of the larger size and made it less awkward, better quality paper and better readability—would you still want it to go back to being digest sized?