Globe redesign: what say you?

My initial thoughts:

--"g" actually looks good, notwithstanding some uninspired cover art. There's plenty of editorial heft inside, and the "Parting Shot" feature on the penultimate page has tons of potential. Also, let's hope the graphic accompanying Alex Beam's column is his and his alone; it's very apt.

--The revamped pics for the metro columnists? Not so hot, at least judging from Adrian Walker's. Looks like clip art.

--I was all ready to bellyache about the shorter stories in the Nation and World sections, i.e., pages A2 and A3. But then, eagle-eyed observer that I am, I noticed that while the main stories were shorter, the miniscule news nuggets that used to run on the margins have been eliminated. Now I'm not sure how feel. But I expect I'll still go elsewhere for my national- and world-news fix.

--The Globe has steadfastly refused to get specific about how much of the news hole will be lost in the redesign. A week ago, for example, Editor & Publisher's write-up included this dodge:

The Globe is saving 24 pages a week with the new section formats. Martin Baron, editor of the Globe, said while some newshole will be lost, the pages lost include house ads and event listings. [emphasis added]

That continues today, in the official explanation of the redesign on A6, which tells us that:

"The Business section, with about the same amount of news and information as before, appears inside Metro each day."

C'mon, Globe! If the reduction's minimal, no one will care; if it's not, you owe your readers the fullest possible explanation of why it's necessary. Also, dancing around the subject just makes you look silly.

Thoughts, readers?