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Berliner, or "midi", is a newspaper format with pages normally measuring about 470 mm × 315 mm, i.e. slightly taller but only marginally wider than in the format known as "tabloid".
European newspapers
It is used by many European newspapers, including dailies such as Le Monde in France, La Vanguardia in Spain, La Repubblica in Italy, and (since September 12, 2005) The Guardian in the UK. The French financial newspaper Les Échos changed to this format in September 2003, and the largest daily papers in Slovenia (Delo) and Croatia (Vecernji List), are also in this format. The most recent quality newspapers to join this trend are Le Soir, the main Francophone newspaper in Belgium (15 November 2005), and Rio de Janeiro-based Jornal do Brasil (newsstand edition only, April 16 2006).
Confusingly, although the Berliner Zeitung is occasionally referred to as simply "the Berliner", it is not printed in Berliner format — the name refers merely to Berlin, and was originally contrasted with "North German" and "French" sizes in the early 20th century. In fact, only two German national dailies use Berliner format: die tageszeitung (known as the "taz"); and the junge Welt, which, in 2004, abandoned the unique slightly-larger-than-A4 size that had marked it out since the early 1990s. The majority of the national quality dailies use the larger broadsheet format known as "nordisch", measuring 570×400 mm.
North American newspapers
The Journal & Courier newspaper in Lafayette, Indiana will begin using Berliner format for its daily edition in July 2006. This will be the first publication in North America to be produced in this format.
Other newspapers
The student newspaper gair rhydd of the Student's Union of Cardiff University, Wales published a special one-off Berliner end-of-year issue (number 818) on June 12, 2006, becoming the first non-national newspaper to use this format.
References
- How we got the measure of the Berliner (discussing the Guardian's switch to the format)
See also
"Berliner (format)"