International Herald Tribune (IHT), the global edition of The New York Times, has launched two major product innovations for its worldwide audience of digital and newspaper readers.

A new online global edition at global.nytimes.com combines the international voice of the IHT, with the worldwide breadth of reporting of The Times, and the digital expertise of NYTimes.com.

It is edited in New York, Paris and Hong Kong to provide users with a 24/7 flow of geopolitics, business (with Reuters), sports and style, news and commentary from a distinctly global perspective.

The IHT has also unveiled a fresh new look for its newspaper. The front-to-back redesign gives more definition to the 122-year-old paper’s journalistic strengths and emphasizes its international personality.

Clearer headings, improved page navigation, more anchored positions, better designed briefs columns and pointers to Web articles, as well as greater emphasis on photography all serve to make the new-look IHT newspaper easier to navigate, more visually arresting and helpful in directing readers to additional content at global.nytimes.com. Typographically, the IHT has also introduced a cleaner nameplate that gives “international” more prominence and a new Cheltenham typeface to lend contrast and openness throughout.

In the new design, the IHT’s Business section which is produced in collaboration with Reuters, is given added prominence by being anchored at the back of the newspaper Monday through Friday, creating a new business-oriented environment that showcases the popular Breaking Views feature and columns by authoritative, analytical writers like Andrew Ross Sorkin and Floyd Norris.

For the weekend edition, in response to reader feedback, a new section called Weekend Arts full of interviews, reviews and lifestyle reporting draws together the prized arts coverage of The Times with distinguished IHT voices, such as art critic Souren Melikian, to create a stimulating weekend read.

Martin Gottlieb, editor, global edition said ”Redesigning the newspaper and reconfiguring our global online presence at the same time created significant opportunities for us journalistically: Working together with The New York Times, we have been able to look at the overall balance and direction of our coverage afresh. By consolidating Web operations and improving design processes, we are freeing up editorial energies to focus on delivering the accurate reporting, thought-provoking writing and sharp analysis that our international readers need now more than ever.”

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