With the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee just wrapping up, the final day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) about to kick off in Los Angeles and the opening game of the Euro 2012 a mere one day away, it’s been an eventful week around the world.

In local news, the UAE’s media landscape has undergone some interesting changes, which we’ll shed more light on in this edition of TWTW.

Gulf News goes Berliner

What first comes to mind when you hear the word “Berliner”? A quick Wikipedia search refers us to an article about JFK’s famous 1963 speech (details here, a citizen of Berlin, and the sugar-laden doughnut originating in the city. It’s also the name of a newspaper format.

Adopted by many European newspapers, including The Guardian in the UK, Le Monde in France, La Repubblica in Italy, and El Mundo in Spain, the Berliner format is roughly mid-way between a tabloid and a broadsheet in size. Ironically, there are no newspapers printed in the Berliner size in Berlin.

On June 1th 2012, Gulf News became the first Middle Eastern newspaper to “go Berliner”. What does the new format mean for the paper? In the words of Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News: “As we go smaller in format, we are actually adding more pages, offering readers more of the unique Gulf News content you are accustomed to. Our pages are no longer merely news pages – they are a destination for those interested in cultural, analytical, and fun content – compelling content for every member of our readership family.” (source: Gulf News) More compact, the newspaper can also now be comfortably held in the reader’s hands.

Here’s a photo of Al Nisr production staff loading copies of the first Berliner-sized issue of the paper:

Image source: Gulf News

To accompany the format change, Gulf News has created several new daily sections, including World, The Views and revised the main section, Business and Sport. tabloid! is now much smaller, and new weekly sections have been added – Education, Your Money, Tech News, Motoring and Health. Follow this link to see it all at a glance.

How will this affect advertising revenue? Convincing advertisers to pay the same price for this new compact layout as they previously paid for a broadsheet can be a challenge, but differentiation in the marketplace, more flexibility in terms of layout, and increased audience attention are undeniable pros of the Berliner format (source: Campaign).

…less than a month after The National announces new sections

Gulf News’s new look comes less than a month after The National revised its print and online editions. The result of a six-month review, the changes at The National included the addition of Luxury magazine, which together with the UltraTravel magazine replaced M Magazine, as well as a new India-focused section and a revamped Sport section.

The new Weekend section, a broadsheet glossy published on Friday, combined the majority of the supplements that were previously in the Saturday edition of the paper. Arts & Life became a 16-page tabloid which now features more listings and events.

On the digital front, The National introduced an e-reader application for the iPad, as well as an sms news alert service available for Etisalat subscribers.

New glossy to launch in the UAE

The team behind OK! Middle East has recently announced it will be launching a new celebrity, fashion and beauty glossy aptly named “Red Carpet”. Keep your eyes peeled – we’ll let you know when this title hits the shelves.

OK! Middle East, the regional edition of the celebrity glossy, will be now published by a different publishing house, but we are yet to hear more details on when the title will resurface.

Microsoft announces this year’s most anticipated games at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012

Step back into the boots of mankind’s greatest hero, hit the open road in exotic supercars and dance your heart out – this year’s edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is here.

To round off TWTW, watch how Microsoft unveils its portfolio of games set to be released within the coming year, as well as more awesome announcements such as the SmartGlass at its E3 press conference: Microsoft E3 2012 Press Conference

We know how we’ll be spending our weekends in!

The Halo 4 booth at E3 2012:

Image source: Xbox