It may not seem like much of a publishing upheaval, but the Vatican newspaper's switch to colour pictures is part of a quiet media revolution for the conservative institution. The change at the weekend at L'Osservatore Romano is the latest instituted by a new and, by Vatican standards, relatively young editor, 55-year-old Gian Maria Vian, to broaden its appeal.
He took the reins of the Vatican's 147-year-old mouthpiece, considered by many in the past as a bland broadsheet at best, three months ago with a papal mandate to rejuvenate it.
Granted, there were only two colour pictures in Sunday's edition - one on the front page and one on the back page and both were, predictably, of Pope Benedict.
In the past, colour pictures were published in the daily edition only on special occasions.
Other changes include more articles by women - a specific request by the Pope - more international cover, and a more reader-friendly layout and typeface.
More female by-lines
"The newspaper had to be renewed," said Vian, who has worked as a historian, journalist and university professor.
"The Pope asked me for a more international scope, more attention to other churches and religions, including non-Catholic ones, and more female by-lines," he said.
Indeed, while the front page of Sunday's edition led with a speech by the Pope to Rome seminarians, it also included an article on the latest suicide bombings in Iraq and an editorial about the future of that country.
The second page had news stories from Kabul, Cairo, the United Nations, Madrid and even an article from New York about Microsoft's $45bn bid to buy Yahoo!, a novelty for a newspaper that hardly ever ran economic or business stories.
Inside was a long interview with Rome's chief rabbi.
"The newspaper's editorial line is a lot more independent than most people think," said Vian, who added that only a few articles about international relations were vetted by the Secretariat of State, the Vatican's diplomatic department.
"Certainly, we reflect the point of view of the Holy See, that's obvious. But we are a newspaper. We are not an official bulletin," he said.
Movers and shakers read it
Its influence is disproportionate to its tiny circulation of just 12 000, which is smaller than that some American university dailies.
"Our circulation is low but our readership is very qualified," he said, adding that many movers and shakers around the world and diplomats in Rome read it.
To raise its profile with the media, Vian has begun sending the entire newspaper to journalists electronically even before it hits newsstands in the afternoon.
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