Scott Heekin-Canedy

Is there any circumstance in which the New York Times would feel good about losing readers? Yes!

"This is a result of the strategic decision," wrote Times President Scott Heekin-Canedy in an in-house memo last night. The decline—down 3.5% percent in circulation numbers released on Monday—is suggested to be entirely attributable to replacing "our 'two weeks free' promotion with our traditional 50% offer" and to a price bump back in February.  read more »

The memo goes on to note that the Times beats everyone in the 'key Manhattan market' (is that the same as Manhattan?) and that NYTimes.com is the 'largest' newspaper-owned Web site (which presumably means most-visited). The memo follows.

The New York Times announced this evening, and in tomorrow's paper, a change in format. The paper will consolidate its printing at its College Point facility in Queens, lay off 250 employees, and reduce the trim size of the paper to the size of USA Today.

The process will take two years. In a memo, executive editor Bill Keller said the paper would add pages; the shrinkage of paper would, after the addition of more pages, only result in 5 percent less space in the newspaper. "A narrower paper is in some ways more reader-friendly," Keller wrote.

Keller also speculated that by fighting "flabby or redundant prose in longer pieces" and running more news-digest material, "I could take 5 percent out of any day's paper and actually make it better."

Keller's memo runs to 780 words.  read more »

Full memos follow, from Keller and Times president Scott Heekin-Canedy: