Recently I emailed The Age asking why they still publish in Broadsheet. Personally I find the format unreadable, particularly on public transport or anywhere with limited space. I very strongly believe that the main (if not the only) reason The Age readership is so low (compared to The Herald Sun) is simply the broadsheet format.

Thank you for taking the time to contact The Age. Certain sections of The Age are now published in a 'tabloid' format. Sport, Metro and the daily supplements have all be converted to this size.

There are currently no plans to change the main News and Business to tabloid. The Age editor, Andrew Jaspan, recently said:

"I do not, at this stage, want the paper to go fully tabloid. I don't think that's the right direction for the paper to go in. I think there is market differentiation for us there. I also think it sends a clear signal to the readers that when it comes to the news that we will give it the space and the projection that is required for serious news coverage."

It seems to me that the only reason for the paper staying in Broadsheet format is personal opinion of other people's person opinion. Tradition. Maybe they've done market research asking Herald Sun readers if they'd read The Age if it was in tabloid format but I doubt it. I assume they've done research and discovered that "entertainment" (ie. Green Guide, Sport) sections are better received in tabloid but "serious" news is still preferred by readers to be broadsheet. Do readers really believe that broadsheet somehow magically makes the reporting better? Maybe they do. I don't. I struggle greatly to believe that the quality of The Age's articles would drop simply by reducing the page size.

Some quotes from the "broadsheet" Wikipedia article:

In 2003 The Independent started concurrent production of both broadsheet and tabloid ("compact") editions, carrying exactly the same content. The Times did likewise, but with less apparent success, with readers vocally opposing the change. The daily Independent ceased to be available in broadsheet format in May 2004, and The Times followed suit from November 2004; the Scotsman is also now published only in tabloid format. The Guardian plans to switch to the "Berliner" or "midi" format found in some other European countries (slightly larger than a traditional tabloid) by 2006.

The main motivation cited for this shift is that commuters prefer papers which they can hold easily on public transport, and it is presumably hoped that other readers will also find the smaller formats more convenient. It remains to be seen how this shake-up will affect the usage of the term "broadsheet"

Which brings me to the announcement of the "wikipedia rule":

Any argument on a topic can be stopped or significantly reduced by posting a link to the wikipedia article.