When it comes to reinventing itself, some would say The Standard in Hong Kong is a pro. It's had two in the past two years, and the market is now abuzz with the possibility that a third is on the cards.
Much of the talk stems from the hiring of a new management team, including publisher and editor-in-chief Mark Clifford.
Fresh from an eight-year stint at BusinessWeek, Clifford is understandably keen to put in place his vision of where and what the paper should be.
But it's a strategy that will need careful evaluation, given The Standard's last two attempts at reinventing itself, first going from a broadsheet to a tabloid as the iMail before reverting to its old name. Needless to say, all that shuffling about has left advertisers and agencies more than a little sceptical and readers slightly confused.
"How do we change it so that it's better and at the same time not have people confused yet again about where we're going? It's absolutely a big challenge," says Clifford.
While there's no radical upheaval on the cards, he is intent on first improving the editorial product before tackling the more sensitive issue of circulation - a matter he declines to talk about, citing the circulation scandal of the 1990s. Former owning company Sing Tao was almost brought to its knees when the scandal hit the headlines. "I think until we really clean things up and audit (the paper), we can't really talk about it," Clifford explains.
"We're happy building on the foundation and platform that we have as a business, finance, economic newspaper with a very strong focus on Hong Kong. And, that's not going to change."
However, to carve market share off its main rival, the South China Morning Post, Clifford knows the priority is to improve the challenger's quality.
But in an age when news is commoditised, it's not just the Post Clifford is worried about. "(News) is 24/7, you can't shut it out and it's a huge difference from when I moved to Asia when there was no Bloomberg or financial coverage. Now, everyday I can fill my international pages with just coverage of the Korean economy," says Clifford, who came to Asia in the late '80s for a job at the Far Eastern Economic Review.
The stint provided Clifford with a close-up view of Asia as he saw demonstrations and riots in South Korea. It is largely this desire to live through history, and as a journalist to hold governments up to the light of public scrutiny, that has fuelled his passion for his new role.
Clifford plans to hit readers with news and analysis that's "blunt" and "right between the eyes". To do that, he's turning his attention to the paper's 42-strong team of journalists. He wants to run a graduate/advanced course specialising in business, finance, economic and metro reporting.
A grand plan indeed, but Clifford is no novice when it comes to turning round lesser publications. He moved from the bigger-circulating Review to BusinessWeek, which in 1995 had a circulation of just 37,000 (versus more than 80,000 today).
Can he work the same turnaround magic at The Standard?
The challenge is far more delicate this time, as Clifford is both the editor-in-chief and publisher.
The separation of church and state, he believes, can be achieved in his dual role because "it forces editorial to be responsible and not simply want, want, want".
While lessening the paper's dependence on company notices will take time, Clifford is confident that with the launch of the weekend edition, the paper is "starting to make a little more noise".
However, he is realistic that it will take "one story at a time, one leader at a time" before The Standard truly becomes an essential read.
CLIFFORD: ON THE RECORD
Raising standards: BusinessWeek and The Standard are different products, but good journalism is good journalism. I'm trying to bring that level of journalism to The Standard.
Political wrap: We are not afraid to take on any issues, not afraid to take on powerful people and not looking to dodge anything.
Shifting revenue: There is a big reliance on company notices right now, and we clearly want to broaden our revenue base.
Church and state: I will make sure that the stuff that happens out there editorially, long term, also makes sense commercially. And that the commercial side doesn't infringe on editorial quality and integrity.
Breaking news: The Chinese press picked up our (exclusive) Canning Fok interview. That shows that they are reading us and that we can sometimes do things that they can't.
Rival papers: I think the South China Morning Post is a good paper and I don't mean to disrespect them. But I think there is not enough in-depth coverage of business, finance and economic reporting in Hong Kong.