Swansea Bay's only free weekly newspaper has had a design tweak.
The Swansea Herald of Wales now packs a slightly more newsy punch.
Gone is the over-reliance on big photos; back are pages with a story count more traditionally associated with local papers.
It's still material that's been lifted from sister title the South Wales Evening Post, but it's an improvement nonetheless.
The latest edition - datelined March 25 - comes swaddled in a four-page wraparound plugging the Post's World Cup soccer-themed sticker collection.
Presumably a promotion brokered by parent company Northcliffe Media, Dream Final 2010 bears none of the preciously guarded logos associated with officially sanctioned Fifa merchandise. Hence, no national crests on the players' kits, no mention of this summer's World Cup and no photo of the famous trophy.
More disappointing is the apparent lack of commercial opportunity offered to local traders. It would've been good to see Messers Tevez, Ribery, Rooney, Torres and Ronaldo help fan the flames of Swansea Bay trade - even through some simple in-paper ad sponsorship. Perhaps that's still to come.
Anyhow, back to the Herald's refreshed news pages. The extra content makes the whole package a lot more readable and will make it easier for ad sales staff to convince potential customers to invest in newspaper space.
It also means there's a comfortable feel to the plethora of plugs for Evening Post features.
Best ad: Renault Swansea, specifically their use of a spanner-wielding Playmobil-style character. Stands out a country mile.
Worst ad: Bunnies "health club". Why continue with such seedy stuff?
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