The front page of The News & Observer will take a different approach on Mondays

Starting next week, the front page of The News & Observer will feature a different kind of news on Mondays. Instead of printing what news has already occurred, the Monday editions of the N&O will take a “look ahead” approach, the newspaper reported today.

Starting June 30, Monday’s front page will focus more on what’s going to happen than what has happened. It will look at what’s coming in politics, government, business, sports and culture. In place of the news summary on the left side of the page will be a staff-written news forecast. Stories will be shorter, some holding to the front page.

Financial pressures have put a new emphasis on coverage that uses less space. The Monday A section, for instance, will lose two pages, including the Monday op-ed page.

The change appears to be among several cost-cutting efforts the newspaper announced last week. Those changes include laying off 70 employees, consolidating coverage with the Charlotte Observer and more. All the changes come weeks after the paper announced that subscription rates are increasing.

The N&O concluded its announcement with this sentiment:

But necessity can spur improvement. Next Monday, we hope you’ll agree.

At least the N&O is trying to be innovative in a time when some newspapers seem unwilling to confront and adapt to the changing media landscape.