After many months—maybe even years—it’s almost time. We are eager and ready to move from planning to action.

With the first issue in July—the next one—The Georgia Bulletin’s look and organization, both print and online, will be fresh and different. The staff is focused on that deadline, even as we continue to do the work of covering the news of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and striving to do it well.

Way back when we were first considering a redesign, Father Bryan Small (then the Emory chaplain and now pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Decatur) remarked that this endeavor would be like “changing the tires on a car going 60 miles an hour.” He was right.

Since that day, I’ve quoted him, probably too often, but upgrading that metaphor to going 80 miles an hour.

Integrating Words And Visuals To Tell The Story

In moving to a new design with the help of design consultant Jennifer George-Palilonis, the staff came to a new, smarter understanding of how to integrate words and visuals for the newspaper.

We recognize that today’s readers are in a hurry, have a variety of options from which to get their news and information, and want to be provided with context for stories that are relevant in their lives.

We want The Georgia Bulletin to be the source (or one of the sources) that you go to for Catholic news.

One way we will provide a context that is relevant to you is through an innovative design palette that includes more explanatory display type, fact boxes and other graphical elements that quickly explain what’s at issue with individual stories. We will be working to give greater emphasis on a variety of content, from local and world news of interest to Catholics, to feature stories that inspire and inform, to sports and news of local teams, to culture that affects our church and our faith.

Goals For Improving The Newspaper

Of necessity, when you are doing a project, you have goals. And our staff is no different—what did we hope to achieve in our new design? We wanted to …

– Provide news in a format that is cleaner, bolder, more active, compelling and distinctive.

– Allow readers who scan to find information quickly and put it in immediate context.

– Reassure our in-depth readers that they are getting as much, if not more, substance and value in the news we provide.

– Organize information in the most appropriate ways into text, photographs and graphics.

While we will continue to provide solid news of the Catholic community in our archdiocese and around the world, we will also continue to look at the format of how we provide that news. We’re not taking anything away, but we will have some new offerings, including a middle section called “In/Depth” or “Life/Story” (depending on the content). This section will include information that gives a greater focus to a particular issue or provides a deeper look at living our faith through a personal story.

Providing News Quicker

One of our goals was to improve The Georgia Bulletin website and use it more effectively to provide news and information. The website will be more up to date, easier to navigate and more reader friendly. The site will incorporate a more contemporary design style that matches that of the print product.

We want to give readers reason to receive the newspaper at home by mail, but also to visit the website regularly by providing relevant, interesting information that makes use of the rich storytelling capabilities of each medium. We hope to update content more frequently online, giving readers more opportunities to follow news related to the Catholic Church in between newspaper production cycles.

We Appreciate Your Support

Your support of The Georgia Bulletin is needed. First, through sharing. Please consider sharing our newspaper and our website with others—using The Georgia Bulletin to start a dialog with others about the Catholic faith and, dare I say, evangelizing friends and family as we are called to do.

Second, please consider making a donation to your parish for The Georgia Bulletin. The cost of the paper per year, per household is minimal. Your pastor will appreciate your donation, and so will I.

Finally, your participation as readers is vital to our mission as a Catholic newspaper. Let us hear from you. Friend us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgiaBulletin); tweet with us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/GeorgiaBulletin); read our blog (https://georgiabulletin.org/blog/). And please take some time over the coming months to let us know how you like the new design. We really thank you for your support.

You can write to me at editor@georgiabulletin.org.