I’ve taken a few days to contemplate the Dallas Morning News’ new site and logo. I’ve come to a conclusion: I don’t like it. To me, it seems like someone has mashed up Deadspin’s logo and Chase Bank’s logo to create what they think the future will look like. Not long ago, the Tribune company changed its name to Tronc. I bet the same consultant responsible for that horrific move was involved with the DMN’s new logo and its decision to drop the word “morning” from its title. But what do I know? My colleague and arch nemesis, Eric Celeste, disagrees with my assessment. I offer you a text exchange from earlier this morning:
ME: Time to talk about the new DMN logo. Effing crazy. [Ed: I didn’t really text “effing.”] And how about the fact that the new site doesn’t even say Dallas Morning News? It just says Dallas News.
ERIC: I think that’s OK. They want the paper to disappear basically within 3 to 5 years. It’s not just morning. It’s all day.
ME: It’s an effing 150-year-old brand, and they just tried to turn it into CultureMap. [Ed: It’s only 131 years old.]
ERIC: But the logo is really odd. It’s a renaming they’ve been prepping us for for 10 years. I think that’s smart.
ME: Nobody doesn’t go to the site because it’s after lunch and they think the “morning” in Dallas Morning News means the paper only publishes news in the morning. There was once a paper in Dallas called the Dallas News. Am I mistaken? [Ed: Yes, I was.]
ERIC: Then why keep it? That brand is tied to print. Only you and a few grandpas read the paper in print. It’s been Dallasnews for 10 years. I’m not sure.
ME: For me, it’s just a brand thing. Coke’s logo looks old timey. But it’s effing Coke. [Ed: I really need to clean up my language. It’s embarrassing.] You know it right away. This new brand is something I don’t trust.
ERIC: It used to be Coca-Cola.
ME: [after a long pause] You’re dumb.
ERIC: First thing you’ve gotten right!
ME: And I’ve got more Pokémon than you.
