Media Forum: Does the Indy revamp work?(promotions of Simon Kelner, Roger Alton and resignation of Simon Barnes at The Independent)

Is The Independent's redesign pleasing to advertisers, Alasdair Reid asks.

Media agency press buyers spent the better part of the summer becoming increasingly worried about The Independent. Back in April, it had become apparent that the newspaper was likely to feel an ad market squeeze more keenly than its rivals.

On the other hand, it had just unveiled a management reshuffle that saw its editor, Simon Kelner, promoted to managing director; the former Observer editor Roger Alton appointed to succeed him as editor; and the departure of the commercial director, Simon Barnes, to be replaced by Daryl Fielding.

It all looked rather exciting, potentially. But then there was a hiatus Alton wasn't due to arrive until the summer and Fielding seemed determined to maintain a low profile. The paper was, some observers argued, failing to make itself heard in the places that mattered.

With circulation continuing to slide, the product was looking tired - particularly at a time when its rivals The Times and The Daily Telegraph were making so much noise about their continuing investment in full colour throughout all editorial pages.

You could have been forgiven for thinking that, despite the reshuffle, The Independent was adrift. Last week, however, the paper walked into the spotlight once more. It unveiled a full-colour redesign, coinciding with a rise in its coverprice from 80p to pounds 1, making it the most expensive quality daily on the market (its rivals have only just gone up to 80p).

Fielding, in a rare public pronouncement, indicated that the paper was aspiring to new levels of commercial flexibility, notably on ad format and position. It will, for instance, now offer strip advertising across the top of news pages.