Honey, they shrunk The Guardian

There is a new tabloid newspaper in town - but it has a familiar name.

The Guardian has joined the ranks of newspapers which have shrunk down to fit in with today's more hectic, on-the-go lifestyle.

Let's be fair, the times when you could sit at the table or on the sofa and peruse a broadsheet newspaper are long in the past. News changes too fast. By the time you have finished reading the paper some of the news will have changed and half the world will bi discussing it on Twitter.

As an aside, this news was driven home this morning when I walked out of the station to be given a copy of City AM which proclaimed the building firm Carillion is in trouble and looking to the banks after Government talks failed. When I got out of bed two hours earlier Twitter told me the bank talks had failed and Carillion was going bust. That is the problem print news faces.

But The Guardian has joined The Times and others in making itself easier to grab and read on the train or on the move. This does, though, throw it into competition with the freebie papers such at The Metro and The Evening Standard. How The Guardian will hold up at £2 a copy with the same news as those will be interesting to see.

The Guardian has a well set readership, positioning itself to the more liberal end of the big names in print media. But is that a market which will keep picking it up? I was an avid reader at uni but have barely bought a copy since leaving. Like so many others I get my news online and occasionally look to newspapers for in-depth analysis. On that basis I wonder if the more broadsheet look would not have an advantage. If I want a tabloid with the news I'll grab the freebies.

Either way, The Guardian's change was met with a range of responses online. Former tabloid editor and current Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan offered some advice.

Meanwhile, "news reporter" parody and self-professed socialist Jonathan Pie was not getting his hopes up.

What the future holds for The Guardian with this new look is still to be seen but good luck to them. I am getting a train this evening, I'll see if I'm minded to pick up a copy.