A regional publisher has unveiled a major revamp of a weekly paper as part of changes which allow reporters to be based on their patches.

Archant London title The Docklands has undergone a content and design overhaul to make it more modern and easy to read, with stories to better reflect the local community.

And the introduction of a new content management system has allowed reporters at the paper to be equipped with a laptop, mobile phone and dongles, so they can be out on patch, rather than based in an office.

The new look for the paper was unveiled at a launch event attended by more than 150 people at Canary Wharf, where London Mayor Boris Johnson provided a good luck message via video link.

The first edition of the new-look paper hit the newsstands this week.

Titles across Archant London will also be revamped over the next month with reporters being equipped to work from their patches, which comes after the London24 website was relaunched last week.

Steve Bodycomb, group design editor for Archant London, said the move was a ‘major culture change’ in how the papers operate.

He told HTFP: “It is very much going back to the old days where a reporter was out on patch.

“They will still come in for weekly meetings but we want them out on patch and not in the office. We are trying to re-engage with the communities.

“It is very exciting and a major culture change. Hopefully we are going to lead the way in how regional newspapers operate.”

The structure of news conferences has also been changed so some reporters will be in the office, while others will take part via conference call from home or on location.

Steve said the new-look Docklands paper was easy to navigate, with a higher story count, more positive stories and a balanced approach, without sensational headlines.

He added: “It looks very different, it looks like a serious newspaper/news magazine rather than beforehand it didn’t know what it was.”

This edition shows how the paper used to look.