With this being our second issue of January 2016, we have decided to start fresh with a few changes to the overall look of the Signal Tribune.
For most folks, the most obvious change is the re-design of our front-page nameplate. Since the beginning of the Signal Tribune, we have emphasized the word “Signal” and made the word “Tribune” less noticeable, but over the years we have found it problematic because many of our readers and advertisers assume that we only distribute within the city of Signal Hill.
In reality, about 80 percent of our distribution/readership is in the Long Beach neighborhoods of California Heights, Bixby Knolls, Wrigley Heights and Los Cerritos. With Signal Hill’s population being approximately 11,500, it accounts for about 20 percent of our distribution/readership.
Another change is how we will number our issues. Since the start, we have used the volume numerals to indicate the number of years we have been in business and the digits following to designate the number of issues within that volume. Looking into the matter, I discovered that while some newspapers use that format, many others start over at the beginning of each new year with the figure for the volume advancing to the next number and the issue number starting over as 1. With the option of doing either, our staff and I decided to go with the latter option in order to, in our opinion, make it easier for our readers to keep track of where we are within our printing schedule of any given year.
For those who are wondering why our volume number is 39… while the Signal Tribune has technically only existed for 15 years, here is the explanation:
About the time of The Signal’s first anniversary, Steve and I bought another paper named Signal Hill Star Tribune (SHST). Choosing to combine the two publications, rather than to print two separate issues every week, we decided to go to court and have the paper renamed the Signal Tribune. With that done, we changed the publication’s volume to reflect the ongoing numbering of the SHST.
Furthermore, besides the matters above, we are also freshening up our look to include more descriptive headlines, as well as graphics, charts and other elements to give more visual components to our articles.
We hope you enjoy our new look. Do feel free to let us know your thoughts on the changes we have made.
On a more personal note, today marks what would have been Elvis Presley’s 81st birthday. Since his passing Aug. 16, 1977, he seems to be alive and well in the hearts of millions across the globe. I consider myself to be one of Elvis’s uber fans, as I have the bragging rights of having seen him perform 40 times. Besides my number of concert attendances, I am also proud to say that he personally gave me seven scarves from various venues, mostly Las Vegas, and each with the bonus of a kiss from those lovely, pouty lips. Happy birthday, Elvis. Your legend lives on.
