It's The Papers That Got Small!

Above: Today's NYT placed atop yesterday's wider version.
No, it's not your imagination: The Times is an inch-and-a-half slimmer this morning, putting the paper at the "national newspaper 12-inch standard." While the decision "cuts newsprint expenses" ahead of a larger redesign, we have to believe it is part of a long-term plan to shrink the Times to its inevitable and ideal size of 3.5 inches. Will the shrinkage have any effect on content? Well, there will be "somewhat fewer words per page." As a tipster notes, "A friend who writes a column for the Times tells me that she's been instructed, as of this week, that her 800-word column must be cut to 725 words from now on." We've seen claims that none of the op-ed columnists will lose any space, but that's a decision they might want to revisit: If MoDo has to do one less joke comparing George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to Samantha and Miranda, it's sort of win-win, right?