A redesigned TCU Daily Skiff hit the newsstands at the beginning of the fall semester, marking the end of a summer-long, student-led overhaul of the newspaper and the paper’s website DailySkiff.com. For the first time, the Skiff is also being distributed to businesses near the campus and inside campus residence halls.

As part of the paper’s redesign, the Skiff shifted from a traditional broadsheet format to the suddenly retro tabloid, which the paper had in the 1970s to reduce paper use. The move to the tabloid was part of an effort to modernize the printed Skiff and create a more portable, easier-to-read product.

Robert Bohler, student publications director, said the changes are also driven by similar moves in the newspaper industry to develop more reader-friendly printed products.

“The student editorial, design and advertising staffs have been working extremely hard to develop the new strategies and to make the transition to the tab format,” he said.

The redesign of the printed Skiff was conducted by Schieffer School students and was advised by faculty member Broc Sears, who has led newspaper redesigns at several large metropolitan newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The changes to the newsprint Skiff and to DailySkiff.com were also shaped by research conducted by students in the Schieffer School of Journalism’s strategic communications program.

The new Skiff will be available at almost 50 locations, many of which are new distribution points for the fall semester. The distribution was altered in response to feedback from focus groups, said Bitsy Faulk, the publication’s business manager.

Image magazine will also be have a spot on the new racks.

“The Skiff will now be easier to find in convenient locations on campus and in the surrounding community,” Faulk said.