In a world where bigger often means better， newspapers instead are taking a page from the electronics industry， pursuing a quest for smallness and convenience in an effort to retain an increasingly scarce commodity①： readers.
From Chile to Britain and Finland to Malaysia， newspapers that once published in the traditional broadsheet size are switching to the smaller tabloid②， or compact， layout③. The trend is blurring a distinction between traditionally staid④ and serious broadsheets and racier tabloids and could fuel acceleration in the number of newspapers making the switch.
Whether this turns out to be anything more than a short-term fix—attracting enough new readers and advertisers to improve the industry’s fortunes—remains unclear.
With sales falling in most developed economies as readers turn to the Internet and other sources for news， newspaper publishers seem eager to embrace any strategy that will shore up circulation⑤. Studies show that readers like tabloids because they are easier to handle than broadsheets， particularly on a windy park bench or a crowded train. People want things in more convenient packages—whether it’s motorcars or iPods or newspapers. And the newspapers are just going along with that.
Countries leaded by the U.S including Switzerland， France etc. are became the latest newspaper to announce a physical downsizing⑥. Newspapers in Switzerland， France and Bulgaria are shrinking⑦ their page sizes， too. More than 40 percent of newspapers worldwide will be tabloids.
The wave of conversions⑧ was prompted in part by the high profile decision by The Independent，a British broadsheet whose circulation had fallen to nearly 200，000 from more than 400，000 in 1990， to introduce a tabloid in 2003. The move was soon followed by The Times of London. Everybody’s been getting very excited since the Independent’s move，but in fact this is something that has been going on for decades.
① commodityn. 日用品
② tabloidn. 药片小报，
③ layoutn. 规划， 设计， 书刊等编排， 版面， 配线， 企划， 设计图案
④ staidadj. 沉静的
⑤ circulationn. 循环， 流通， 发行额
⑥ downsizingn. 减少规模，缩小化
⑦ shrinkv. 收缩， (使)皱缩， 缩短
⑧ conversionn. 变换， 转化
数字化时代报纸
在人们的意识中，更大往往意味着更好，不过在报纸业界这种概念却并不完全正确。现在，报业公司也开始了它们的瘦身计划，为了保留住日渐稀少的读者，报纸正在向着更小更方便的目标前进。
从智利到英国，从芬兰到马来西亚，报纸出版的传统尺寸正在逐渐转换为面积更小的 “小报”形式。这一趋势将传统严肃报纸和传媒小报之间的区别模糊化了，并且也加速了进行尺寸转换的报纸数量的变化。不过，尺寸的转换究竟是一种短期的修正，还是能够吸引足够的新读者和广告商加入，以此带动报纸产业的收益，还不得而知。
在经济发达的国家，随着越来越多的读者转投向互联网或其他媒体资源，报纸的销量每况愈下。因此，报纸出版商们必须采取某种策略以刺激销量。因为携带方便，小报更为适合在公园长椅或者拥挤的地铁等环境里阅读，因此也得到了更多读者的青睐。人们希望产品能够更加便于使用，无论是汽车、iPod播放器还是报纸，而如今的报纸也只不过在顺应形式而已。
以美国为首的国家包括瑞士、法国、保加利亚在内的多个国家的报纸都正在经历尺寸上的裁减。全球范围40%的报纸将进行小报化的改革。
引领报纸尺寸改革大潮的主要是业界的知名媒体——英国《独立报》。在1990年的时候，《独立报》的销量曾经达到40万份，而如今的销量已经下滑到20万，因此该报在2003年引入了小报版本。自从独立报作出了改革的决定，几乎业界的每一个人都感到十分兴奋。然而实际上，报纸尺寸裁减的行为早在十几年前就已经开始了。