C-Ville Weekly has once again picked itself up, held itself out at arm's length, and given itself a bit of a shaking.

Not that they expect everyone to notice. "It's been eleven weeks since we stopped running [radical columnist] Ted Rall," says C-Ville editor Cathy Harding. "And I still hear, you know, 'I didn't see Ted Rall this week.'"

The redesign includes the use of a square-serif typeface throughout "for increased readability," says Harding. And the redesign does seem to treat photography with a bit more respect.

In a move to assert ownership of their native segment of time, the first section behind the front of the book is now "the Week." Harding's "read this first" column tells us what we will find (and what to think about it): "3.9.04 A smart new look debuts with this issue of C-VILLE. It's a restatement of our commitment to publishing sharp local journalism with a purpose … Welcome to The Week."

"The Week" includes some new and some ongoing elements. Ongoing is what was formerly "Fishbowl" - shorter, highly-specific, topical pieces. They are still written by the respected political writer John Borgmeyer and the recently-added Paul Fain.

Making the reader comfortable as well, "Ask Ace," "This Modern World" and "Mailbag" are still found in this section.

There's a new photo competition. "youarewhere?" will ask readers to identify the location from a somewhat cryptic photo. Says Harding, "It seems to be very popular -- by 3:00 Wednesday we had about two dozen responses - all in email - which is amazing."

Also new is "7 Days." Feature writer Paul Fain (along with local news sources and the "staff reports" gang) will give us a backward glance at the week that just was. (Curiously, in light of the editor's comments about increasing readability, 7 Days is set in a small, sans-serif face on a tinted background.) The section, running as the leftmost column on successive right-hand pages, offers one brief piece from each day of the previous week.

"7 Days is a journal that will take each day and play one event or occurrence -- not just rehash but add some value to what's been reported - or not been reported."

Says Fain, "A lot of things don't warrant coverage in an article. [And] we will try to engage the reader in a snappy way. It's definitely a challenge, but there's no shortage of material around Charlottesville."

Fain, 30, moved to the area just four months ago. "The first time I was ever in Charlottesville was for the interview with C-Ville." He has spent the past 7 years in DC, as the press person for the Union of Concerned Scientists while freelancing for edgy media like the DC Citypaper and New York's City Limits.

"[7 Days] will be a stretch for C-Ville to do - it's in a daily style [while] exploiting the luxury of hindsight, looking at these stories in a way that a daily paper can't."

Cathy Harding points out that "many people do not use daily news sources, and we hope [the new section] creates a broader context for continuing coverage. Plus, it gives us the opportunity to add value to the news - fresh quotes, a mix of news, sports, personalities….

"The goal of everything," says Harding emphatically, "is to serve the reader. Always."

Dave Sagarin, March 12, 2004