Portsmouth-based newspaper The News has today hit the streets with a bright new look.

Changes to both the design and content of the Johnston Press-owned daily have been introduced, and include a more 'poster-like' front page.

From today readers will be greeted with a new, bolder masthead, and a main points index which will act as a signpost to some of the most important news stories, interviews and sport.

The front page advertisement space has also been changed and will now run across the bottom, rather than the right-hand side, to give added design flexilibity.

Deputy editor Mark Acheson said: "We have held regular reader panels at The News for a few years now and some of the ideas for the new changes have been gleaned from those.

"Others are our gut feeling of what will appeal to readers.

"By bringing in these changes we hope to appeal to even more people in Portsmouth, encouraging our core readership to keep the habit, lure occasional readers to buy more often and encourage those who don't buy the paper at all to give it a try."

Three new supplements have been introduced, with The News FreeAds now being pulished every Monday and printed on distinctive yellow paper, bringing together adverts for items valued at less than £250.

On Tuesday's Woman has been replaced by LifeStyle and, with more of a magazine feel, it will incude a host of new features as well as old favourites such as real-life stories, the problem page and shopping guide.

The paper's Weekend supplement has also been revamped, and now has a new shape and seven-day TV listings for the first time.

The changes to The News have been backed by a promtional campaign which began last week.

Bearing the slogan We Are You, which reflect the paper's appeal across the board, posters have gone display around the city.

Ten readers were chosen to appear in the campaign, and their faces can currently be seen on the sides of delivery vans, buses, bus shelters, and on giant banners outside the paper's News Centre headquarters in Hilsea.

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