Dear readers: The Pioneer Press is different today in a couple ...

Looks like a cheap suburban weekly. Your new page 1 top looks like a website. It has lost all sense of history and heritage.

The NYT crossword is now way too big (it was a little small before). Ideally the puzzle/clues should all be visible when the paper is folded in fourths(like the enemy paper). Also, would you please consider putting both of your crosswords on the same page (like the enemy paper).
I am currently a subscriber to the other Twin City daily paper. I do this only because of the puzzle situation and the fact that your delivery person could not get the paper to me by 6:30 every morning. Work these things out and I might just come back.

All: Thanks for taking the time to comment on the redesign and other changes in the Pioneer Press. I appreciate the feedback.(Well, maybe not the people who want me fired, but everybody else.) Many of you have brought up good points and we're planning further changes as a result, including:
--- We have figured out a way to make the crossword puzzle on the comics page fit so that you can again fold the page into quarters and have the crossword grid and all the clues in one place. It will take us a few days to make this change because of the way we produce the comics pages, but we will get this fixed.
--- For the people who thought some of the gray type on subheadings was hard too read: You're right. We're going to make it darker.
--- The bridge column still is in the paper. To accommodate all the comics in the narrower format, we had to move the bridge column to our classified advertising section. So, today, it's on Page 8F. And it will be in the classified section going forward.
Thanks for your patience and keep the feedback coming.
Thom Fladung

When I opened the morning paper at 6, I was absolutely disgusted that the "Pioneer Press" I know and love, the only traditional paper in the Twin Cities, has been sloppily replaced by a "contemporary" paper aiming to please. I understand cutting down on the width of the paper, as many papers have been forced to do that with the current financial state of the newspaper industry. Yet, all that was old does not need to be changed. The new font of the paper, and the "color-coding" system frustrates me, simply because I am a being grounded on familiarity. Change can be good, but there was no reason whatsoever to change that glorious font that used to proclaim "Pioneer Press" across the top of the paper. Now, a less stately fonts attempts to announce the name of the paper, but miserably fails. Please, change the font back!!! Not everything needs to be changed purely for the sake of change!

The feature section is very disappointing from a design stand point. This is your opportunity to really convey a message through mediums including typography, art, illustrations, photos, etc. The font choice (that odd scripty looking one) lacks class and sophistication. It simply doesn't work. I think the new design as a whole is weak. It needs to be seriously cleaned up.

The new format is fine...but can you do anything about the very irritating tendency for the pages to curl, which has carried over to the new format?

looks good. good job.

I've been a reader of your paper for many years and have adjusted to all the past changes in format, some more easily than others. The new look is fine, and the size might even be more convenient for reading in small places. However, I don't think I could ever get used to the size and layout of the New York Times crossword puzzle as it is now. The old size was perfect for folding the paper in quarters, leaving the crossword puzzle easily accessible and just the right size to do on your lap. I don't know why you've made it so huge now, but it's very difficult to work it without laying it out on a table. The puzzles in the paper are something I always look forward to, so I hope the size can be put back to something more workable.

The reason I like the Pioneer Press is becuase it was different from other papers. It had a much warmer feel and looked really nice. Now it looks like the ever boring USA Today that i hate reading because it looks horrible. I hope that the editor will go back to the old look.

Looks great.

The top of the front page - the "flag" - is too crunched for space, but otherwise the layout and headline fonts look clean, fresh and classy. But it's surprising how "St. Paul" disappeared from the name on the front (at least of my "St. Paul edition," and so few readers are taking note so far. And, why is St. Paul being used in the paper's name on inside pages if it's not proclaimed on the cover? That's the last shred of the newspaper's history. Please consider bringing it back, along with strong news coverage consistently on the cover. Thanks for the good work you all do in keeping us informed!

I don't like ANYTHING about the change, I will not be renewing no matter how much of a discount is offered.

I appreciate the necessary economizing, due to decreased readership in this Internet age. But I am disappointed not to find the bridge column. Has it been relocated or eliminated?

Also, the crossword puzzle is harder to work on in the larger size. Some of the clues are below the fold. Could you restore the old size?

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

The new look is sucks. It looks like the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Here in St. Paul we should have our own look. Also the different colors for each section is stupid. If you can't read the headline then you shouldn't be reading the newspaper.

The new look is GREAT!!!,I've been a reader for over 40 years and I've witnessed whenever the format/look is changed there was backlash.
Naysayers get over it eventually and I'm sure when the look is changed down the road people will kvetch that they loved the look they now say they hate.

I went to pick up my paper from the gas station this morning and the first thig I did was look around for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Where it usually was located was this Star Tribune look alike that was called the Minnesota Pioneer Press. I feel dirty enough that I moved to the town to the west of my beloved Saint Paul where I was born, raised and miss living in because I was talked into it. But now, I don't even have a paper from my home city to read. Is there going to be a censure on the columnists that I love so much like Soucheray, Powers and Sansevere since they wouldn't fit in with what Red Star readers would like? It seems like that is what you are trying to be. I don't like the changes.

Ouch! The Times Roman Bold headlines work far too well to change. The sans serif type reminds me of the Eden Prairie paper and even, gulp, StarTribune.
Make the tweaks if you must, but please give us the classic news look of Monday's Pioneer Press. Thanks.

I guess I'd say it's off to a good start. Now you need to keep your designers from marking their territory by ramming things into the newspaper's flag. This isn't a journalism lab or ESPN The Magazine. You're supposed to be putting out a product that people want to read.
Now you can focus on content, which is why readers get the newspaper to begin with. Editors have lost sight of that, and that's just sad.

I don't care.

I read the digital version.

While in general I really like most of the changes, the NYT crossword puzzle is a mess. The grid is TOO BIG, and it no longer fits in 1/4 of the page. This makes it hard to read the clues and difficult to do unless sitting at a table.
However, I do like the smaller pages and I like the color-coding of the sections.