The Daily News (formerly Palo Alto Daily News) announced today that it will switch to a 21-inch long page size on Tuesday, its next edition. It will be the third page size the free daily has had this year going from 16 inches to 11 inches and now 21 inches.

When the MediaNews-owned paper switched to an 11-inch page in May, it said in a similar announcement to readers:

Our new look is designed to showcase one or two top Peninsula stories of the day on the cover and give you a road map of teasers to the best local news, sports, entertainment and business stories inside. … The change also brands our newspaper as different than the local competition, and makes it easier for our on-the-go readers to carry around. …

Our advertisers will also gain as their messages will stand out more than before in a wider column size with greater page dominance. The change in size, along with an in creased distribution in our core cities, makes the Daily News an even more effective marketing product.

In announcing the switch to 21-inch page, the Daily News said today:

… Though we reduced our size in a cost cutting move a few months ago, we’re now able to produce a rarity in the newspaper world — a free daily broadsheet that will allow us to give readers a more attractive presentation of the news and advertisers the best bang for their bucks.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, The Daily News will come in two sections. The first section will contain all the local news and columns you’re familiar with, along with business, regional, national and world news, as well as the opinion/letters page.

The second section will feature our strong local sports coverage and include Fusion Arts & Entertainment, style, health, Abby, puzzles, movies, TV listings and other familiar staples.

On Fridays, we’ll also produce a third section featuring an expanded Fusion Arts & Entertainment, complete with travel stories and restaurant reviews.

And on Saturdays, our third section will be “On the Market,” featuring real estate related news stories, home and garden features, and a heavy dose of real estate ads.

The announcement didn’t say how the Daily News would fit the 21-inch paper in the windows of its news boxes, which were designed for tabloid products. (Full disclosure: The editor of this page, Dave Price, is the former editor and owner of the Palo Alto Daily News and now is one its competitors.)