Long-time reader J. Fred doesn’t like the new-look N&O. “They can spin it all they want, but all I see is less news. It looks like a coloring book, not a newspaper.”

I didn’t know whether to be offended or complimented when he added, “Hell, you and Carter have more to read in one of your blogs than Page One does now.”

And he suspects something more sinister: “Will this mean another round of newsroom layoffs?”

What about the paper’s website, I asked. After all, while J. Fred likes his printed paper with his breakfast, he also likes to surf news sites. But he sniffed, “Well, they’ve succeeded in making their site look like everybody else’s.”

But, I told him, the editor said the new N&O is designed to “reflect the way readers like to get their news.”

He grunted. “If this is what we want, God help us.”