Everyone in Boston has seemingly fallen in love with the tabloid. The Herald—classic tabloid, The (Weekly) Dig—stapled, redesigned tabloid, The Metro—free tabloid, The Phoenix—booted the fold tabloid. The Boston Globe goes tabloid today with the launch of their new six times weekly (Mon-Sat) feature "Sidekick." Unlike the recent redesign over at the Phoenix, the Boston Globe will still fold twice, horizontal and vertical rise will be creased.
James Reed will be editing Sidekick, which boldly claims to be "your guide to a better day." Reed, the former Go! frontman, will Go! behind, and so will the Globe. The Boston Globe tells us that the Go! section is being replaced by Pop! Which will report on pop culture matters Monday through Saturday. Bostonist is on pins and needles waiting for the next change when Pop! Go!(es to) Weasel! For now the excitement of the Sidekick tabloid insert to the Globe has billed themselves as a link and partnership between the content of Boson.com and the print edition, a place where the fun little extras will make it off the website into black and white. Adrienne Lavidor-Berman, a product manager for Boston.com, will serve as the liaison between the print and web publications. Topics covered will be expanded television coverage with a critical eye, Sudoku among other puzzles and games, more comics, shopping tips, and a feature At Your Service though we prefer you just Ask Bostonist. Sidekick might just be a cheap way to get content from readers who post photos and forum comments which are later featured in the Sidekick. (Speaking of which, watch for Bostonist Flickr photo collection coming soon to a blog near you.)
Though some have already expressed tepid dissatisfaction with the new Sidekick, the Boston Globe is trying to whet your appetite with some promotions. The Globe goes half-price on newsstands inside 128 until (gasp) September. Did we read that right? Bostonist could get used to paying a quarter for the Globe everyday. Of course half-price Globe is one thing, using character costumes is another. The promotions on television, radio and MBTA lines will be coupled with appearances by "famous sidekicks" to raise awareness of Sidekick. Who doesn’t love Barney Rubble, Shrek’s Donkey, or Robin of Batman fame? They’ll be making appearances around Boston over the next month. Look for them during rush hour at Park Street station today, tomorrow, Bostonist was told, they would be hitting Downtown Crossing and Back Bay stations during the evening crunch and quite possibly Government Center at lunch. Who would you pick at Menino's sidekick?
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