EDITOR'S NOTE: These images were taken from the collection of newspaper front page images available at the Newseum Web site.
THE DES MOINES REGISTER, Des Moines, Iowa
A nice, organized
look for what was anything but a nice, organized news event. The designers here
chose to run a file photo quite large. It makes for a nice keepsake effect.
This paper has a long history in dealing with politics. The designers know perfectly
well that many eyes will be on their paper ? especially, as the hed at
the bottom of the page says, this is the first time in 20 years that Iowa has
cast its electoral votes for a Republican. While some might argue that the crop
is wasteful of space ? especially on the left ? I'd argue that this
loose crop adds to the stately feel of the page. Just what eveyone needs to
see when they wake up following too-few hours of sleep on election night. My
only beef: I hope Bush's entire head appeared above the fold. The reversed promo
across the top, as thin as it is, may have pushed the president down to where
his nose peers through the window of the newspaper rack. The headline carries
a great amount of weight. The serif subhead provides nice contrast. The decision
to run only one story on the front and to put all the other races, mug shots,
tables and whatnot inside was a bold choice that made for a nice, clean presentation.
Sure there are other races; we'll run the stuff inside. But THIS is what folks
are talking about. I also like the contrast between the lede photo and the smaller
shot of Kerry, below, and the row of refers across the bottom. Very crisp. Very
nice.
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, San Antonio, Texas
Wow! What color!
What motion! What EMOTION! What excitement! What a great choice of photos to
lead your front page! I can't get over the contrast between those photos. As
I've looked over all the pages today, I've been wondering what will stick in
my own mind as the definitive image of Tuesday's election. I think I've found
it. These two photos sum it all up for me. What a clever way of showing the
nation's electoral votes! In case you can't see it on your computer, those little
boxes down the left list all the states, the number of electoral votes each
has and for whom each state voted. It's the same stuff that is on most papers'
electoral maps... but without the map. The mugs and numerals up top work incredibly
well as a quick-read. And I like the way the subhed acknowledges the fact that
yes, we KNEW the entire ball game might hinge on Ohio. I haven't seen that on
most of today's fronts. What a great impact this page would make in a rack!
My only negatives: The white space between the two columns of refers at the
lower center of the page seems awkward. It's almost as if the little copy blocks
down there have come unattached from the page and are drifting around. A little
more structure down there ? a rule, perhaps, or a different arrangement
of elements ? might have helped. And while I don't mind the Cowboys helmet,
I find the blue road sign distracting. A nice, nice page. One of my favorites
of the day.
THE PLAIN DEALER, Cleveland, Ohio
Wow. Now, THAT'S
how you pull off a special look for a special day. There's so much cool stuff
happening here that I hardly know where to start... The lead art is fabulous
? we're looking at Ohio folks, signing in at the polls. The entire nation
was talking about them last night. So it's great to see 'em here, played so
well. The headline is big and bold and says it all. The fact that this is suddenly
a local story for the Plain Dealer is just gravy. The designers chose to run
a list of tabular results at the bottom of the page. Notice, though, that these
results don't really intrude into the lead package. They're there, if you need
to see them. But they don't completely take over the front, as we've seen on
so many other papers today that chose to run results out front. Most of all,
though, I love what the Plain Dealer did with its nameplate today. That U.S.
flag effect is quite striking. I realize some purists don't think a paper should
mess around with its nameplate, but obviously, I don't agree. This is a very
nice touch and promotes the newspaper PAGE into an EVENT. Nicely, nicely done.
My only beef: Why is the headline under "Congress," in the left-side
rail, a different typeface from the ones under "Issue I" and "Schools"?
I like that compressed font. I wonder if we could have used it on all three
rail stories, for the sake of consistency.
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, Charlotte, N.C.
The 'dueling photo'
approach again. At least the two photos are roughly equal in weight. And I like
the headline ? "Squeaker!" ? and the little political
button in the upper right, in lieu of an election logo. Downpage is nice, clean
and structured. It's easy to do that when your editor will let you get away
with only two stories on the front. I wish more papers would try this on nights
like this. The row of refers across the bottom work particularly well. My only
beef with this page is the map. I'd argue that if you can't replate color, then
you shouldn't run your Electoral College map on A1. With all that red and blue
on the page, it's a bit jarring for the reader to see the U.S. map in shades
of gray.
THE TIMES, Munster, Ind.
Well, for a main
headline, you certainly can't get much bolder than this! While I'd prefer a
live celebration shot, this one from the convention works as well as any file
shot. I like the unusual crop and the positioning below the headlines. It gives
the head even more weight than it already has, as if the sheer mass of the word
"Bush" is crushing the photo... but in a non-featurey way. The rest
of the page is clear and well-structured. I'd argue that the alternating color
bars, on the individual candidates for governor and Senate make it appear as
if the designer wants to draw your attention to the top and bottom candidates
in each. The most striking feature about this page, though ? other than
the headline ? is the enormous piece of artwork at the top of the page.
I like things like this, normally. They send a signal to the reader that this
is a special page, one that the reader may wish to keep or, at the very least,
pay special attention to. But sometimes, we can get carried away. And this,
I fear, may be an example of that. The artwork is large ? quite large.
And it fights tremendously with the large headline. It's almost as if the paper's
nameplate and the red headline are acting as a referee to separate these two
giant boxers. Hey, I'm all for using featurey motifs on special occasions. But
for this page, on this day, I fear the decoration may have overtaken the content.
THE SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Ft. Lauderdale
chose to go with dueling photos for their lede art, but this one is a little
different than most: The photos focus on candidate's supporters, rather than
the candidates themselves. The rail down their right side seems particularly
helpful. Note how it's all clean, crisp type, uncluttered with icons, mugs or
anything else. The reader can spot what she's looking for and zip right to it.
Nicely done. If you've got to do a "dueling" story front, you can't
do it any better than this.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, Seattle, Wash.
Another nice
front that used dual photos and another that focused on supporters rather than
the candidates. I like this: Heck, we already know what the candidates look
like. If you can't get the definitive celebration shot, why not use regular
ol' folks? Especially if you can get LOCAL folks. I like the treatment of the
popular and electoral results across the top, with the mugs. Nice and clean.
The designer even included the standard little "as of X p.m." tag.
The rail down the left side is nicely organized. The map at the bottom works
well. Again, you see common themes developing in the best pages: Don't cram
in too many stories or elements. Use your art large. Pay attention to typographical
details. Don't go crazy with too many odd colors.
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, Madison, Wis.
Very nice attention
paid to typography here. That headline just jumps out at you. The serif banner
across the top is nice. And both play well off the paper's nameplate. Yet another
case of the "dueling photo lede," and here it works well. The photos
of the two candidates are carefully cropped and sized so that they're roughly
equal. This is supposed to be common practice, but I've been surprised at how
many papers didn't do this well. The folks in Madison did it well. The designer
worked in the electoral map as well as a state map ? important, since
Wisconsin still hadn't been called at press time. The little state map gave
readers just enough info to see the trend across the state. Nicely done. The
rail down the left isn't quite as effective here as in some of today's papers
? The all-caps heds for the Feingold and Baldwin blurbs make them a little
hard to read and the four smaller refers downcolumn could perhaps benefit from
being a bit shorter but with larger heds. Overall, though, a nice, clean, inviting
front.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
A great headline
? That's certainly what we all were thinking late last night! And the
"dueling lede photos" are nicely-chosen. We're seeing emotion. We're
seeing real people, instead of candidates. I like 'em. But notice how this page,
overall, doesn't hold together quite as well as some of the others we've reviewed.
That's because there are too many elements out front, below the fold. Too many
little mugs, too many subheads, graphics, and so on. Don't get me wrong ?
it's all good stuff. But it seems to be jumbled all together. I'd prefer to
see some structure down here. But granted, put your hand across the bottom half
of the page, here on your monitor, and look at just the top half ? above
the fold. There's plenty of impact and emotion. That's the sort of thing that
sells papers. Even on a day when you KNOW you're going to sell papers. Also,
I wish we could have loosened up the spacing above and below the two lead hedlines.
It seems awfully cramped up there, between the nameplate and "Here we go
again," and between that and the subhed. Another half-inch of space would
have improved the readability of those heds greatly, I suspect.
THE DAILY NEWS, Los Angeles
The large question mark is certainly striking. And I like the headline: 'Not
again!', which is definitely what everyone is thinking today. I'm not too certain
about the Photoshop work on the photo montage within the question mark, however.
Some parts seem a little more skillfully put together than other parts. The
square at the bottom is pretty good, for example, however the black background
obscuring the large Bush's chin in the middle right and the flag covering Bush's
mouth at the upper left seem awkward. Also, cover the bottom half of the page
to approximate what the reader sees in the rack. Is it a question mark or a
giant 'zero'? I'm not certain it's clear. Good use of a dominant image, though.
This paper struggles, sometimes, to find content for 1A that isn't overpowered
by its red nameplate.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, Denver, Colo.
Nice, bold, and clean. The Rocky is known for immaculate use of typography and
this example shows why: Look how the main hed and the lead art are carefully
balanced for maximum inpact. Look at how the enormous letterforms of that main
hed have been kerned. There is some very nice attention to detail going on here.
The only real negative here: I wish that photo went with the headline. But,
of course, it doesn't ? that's Colorado's new senator, not one of the presidential
candidates. The shot goes with the smaller bold hed downpage. It's a wonderful
celebration shot, though. it also makes me laugh: What is that tucked inside
the crown of the guy's hat?
ARIZONA DAILY STAR, Tucson, Ariz.
A fascinating page, if only because it bucks the norm by dispensing with a lead
photo and going with text ? lots of little pieces of text ? as its
primary element. It looks as though a third of the front consists of promos
to stories inside. The three promos across the bottom seem particularly out-of-place
on a page containing stories of this import. I suspect this paper looks better
folded in half in the rack than it does when you see the full page. In a rack,
the main headline ? and it's a pretty good one ? would jump out a
little more. You'd only see Bush's big red number and not Kerry's, but that's
O.K. And yes, the two little photos would make it into the window of the rack.
But as a whole, I'm not certain it was a good choice to put all the tables listing
the legislative races, the county races and the ballot initiatives on the front.
Would a national story have worked better here? Or a story about the most important
local race? Or something with a photo? The Star uses color effectively on this
page, however.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, Phoenix, Ariz.
Wow! What a striking photo! It's absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn't have thought
a subject like folks waiting in line to vote could be turned into such an eye-catching
result. The yellowish bars play well against the dominant blue of the lede photo.
Color on this page is very well-balanced. The effect, though, gives a somewhat
featuresque feel to the page. Which isn't necessarily bad. But it seems unusual.
My big question is about the nameplate: I've not looked at the Republic in recent
weeks. Does it always reverse the nameplate out of a big black box? It seems
out of place on this page. My first thought was to wonder if the editors were
trying to convey they're in mourning. It certainly seems like one of those things
U.S. newspapers of old did, years ago, in memorial to presidents and other key
figures.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, Chicago, Ill.
Another great "Deja" headline. And certainly, that photo of the Ohio election
worker brings back bad memories of Florida. The Sun-Times makes a number of
choices here that many other papers wouldn't make. Which is fairly typical of
that urban tabloid. First, the designers chose to add a Photoshop fade to the
lead photo, which was, in fact, a live news photo. Any manipulation of a live
news shot makes me nervous. Secondly, the designers added custom art to the
nameplate. That eagle up top harkens to an era when newspapers had quite a bit
more personality than they have today. I like this quite a bit. I love the subheads
"Bush looks like the winner, but Kerry says not so fast" and the play, across
the bottom, of the cut-out photos of Bush and Kerry with their Electoral Vote
totals. I wish we could have found a photo of Bush in which the lighting on
his face wasn't quite so harsh. And the cutouts of Keyes and Obama in the upper
right are another nice touch. A highly-detailed presentation.
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, San Diego, Calif.
Here's a page in which everything comes together quite well: The headline is
nicely-written. But that photo... man, that's funny! What a great shot. What
a great way to sum up the entire political season. That photo really says it
all. Great choice to make it the lead art. The rest of the page is clean, crisp
and logical. Which is very nice. Nice call to put a story about a write-in candidate
out front. It can't be common for a write-in to lead a race in any area, much
less Southern California. My only criticism here would be that the package of
refers up top is SO deep that it pushes most of the wonderful photo below the
fold. Are any of those stories so important that they'll actually sell another
newspaper out of a rack? "Eleven states approve bans"? "Exit polls prove faulty"?
Worthy stories, of course. But did they merit pushing down the photo? I don't
think so. Better to put one or two refers up top, bring the photo into the rack
window and then run more refers below.
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, Santa Ana, Calif.
What a great headline! I like the little headlines along the sides and the
mugs of Kerry and Bush up top. The lede art certainly shows how most folks were
feeling Tuesday night. I'm betting the faces on the three main people in that
photo made it into the window of the newspaper rack. What a great awareness
of space and proportion this page shows. I like very much the idea of showing,
in map form, where the trouble spots were in Ohio and running a Q&A down
the left side. Notice how the refers ? they call them "summaries"
here, which is nice ? run across the bottom. The editors wanted them out
front, but they realize they're not going to sell papers, so they didn't squeeze
them above the fold and they didn't impact the space for the big story of the
day ? the presidential race ? by making them any larger than necessary.
A nice, nice job.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, San Francisco, Calif.
While my complaint with many of Wednesdays' fronts are that they underplayed
their lead photo or pushed it too far down on the page, the Chronicle takes
nearly the opposite approach: They played a large crowd shot so large that it,
the nameplate and the main hed are nearly all that would make it above the fold.
I wouldn't mind if the crowd shot were more engaging. But some of those celebrating
folks don't look very happy. As a matter of fact, some of them seem quite glum.
My first thought was to wonder if we weren't looking at Kerry supporters. I
like the way the lower half of the page is structured. I would have preferred
to see just a little more white space between the three side-by-side stories,
however. I also question the use of THREE national stories out here: Would two
have worked better? I understand the one on the right ? that's the Ohio story
? and the one on the left is clearly marked "analysis." But the hed on the story
in the middle would make it seem like an analysis piece, too. I like using the
shot of Bush relaxing in the White House late Tuesday.
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, San Jose, Calif.
The Merc brings us a relatively busy page today: Lots of little type elements
occupy the space above the fold. I like the old retro idea of stacking headlines
at the top of the page. But the danger in this is that by the time the editor
gets to the actual hed on the story, she has run out of ideas: It's all been
said, already, in the three big headlines. I think that may have happened here.
Certainly, "Divisive race fuels record turnout" and "Fractured nation awaiting
the victor" don't seem nearly as strong as "Electoral College win hinges on
close Ohio count" or "Kerry not ready to concede." I'm surprised by the map
at the bottom of the page. It doesn't contain state name labels or indications
of the number of Electoral votes each state carried ? despite the fact the map
is nearly three-columns wide. (By contrast, see the maps on the front of the
Colorado Springs Gazette or the Lewiston, Maine, Sun Journal.) I do like the
way the designer points to Ohio, however. Would it have been a good idea to
pull out info ? at least the names; New Mexico and Iowa ? on the other uncalled
states as well?
THE GAZETTE, Colorado Springs, Colo.
The main head is a good one: "Stay Tuned" is enormous and certainly sums up
the story. There is a bit of a disconnect, unfortunately, between the main headline
and the lead photo. Those aren't folks waiting around to hear the result ? they're
folks waiting to vote. There are only two stories out front here, and that's
just fine. The nicely-organized rail down the left side sums up the day's other
races and guide the reader to the stories inside.
NORWICH BULLETIN, Norwich, Conn.
Wow. You have to feel sorry for these guys. A headline like "Kerry won't concede"
and then Kerry concedes early the next day. Interesting how the Bulletin played
its Congressional race more prominently than the presidential race. I think
I would have preferred to see the two presidential stories packaged together.
They don't seem connected at all here.
ORLANDO SENTINEL, Orlando, Fla.
Several papers took the dual-photo approach that the Sentinel uses here. Not
a bad choice when the outcome isn't known at press time. The main head pretty
much nails the story: "Still counting." And I really like the analysis piece
at the lower right "Close results show U.S. divide." That will certainly be
the story over the next few days. I wish the designers could have chosen photos
? or could have cropped these photos ? so that Kerry and Bush's heads were parallel
on the page. Here, Bush seems elevated by an inch or so over Kerry. (Compare
this to how the Tampa Tribune handled a similar idea). I like the photo across
the bottom of the page very much ? what a great shot of long lines at the polls;
what a great crop! But the treatment here ? reversing the headline out of a
red bar and boxing the package ? made me think, at first, that I was looking
at an advertisement.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Now THERE'S a bold headline! Very bold; it makes for an enormous impact above
the fold. It's certainly an unusual choice for the lead photo. I'm not quite
sure it works here. The headline immediately below that photo is what catches
my eye, though: It starts out very well: "A sigh to behold..." which is a wonderful
turn of a phrase. But then it becomes quite clumsy: "Problems down." Was there
a better way to write that? The page is clean and logical, which is great.
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE, Tampa, Fla.
Tampa's front suffers from mug shot overload. There's a LOT of information here,
which is good. But we have mugs with the rail down the left side. We have side-by-side
one-column photos with the Senate story, downpage, which means those photos
are essentially mug shots. And the lead art consists of side-by-side photos
of Kerry and Bush, which reduces those individual photos to two-and-a-half-column-wide
glorified mug shots. If you're going to use dueling photos as lead art, you
have to be aware of how that plays against the rest of your page. The other
little photos wouldn't look so scattered if there had been a large photo in
the center of the page. The main headline, though, is quite nice. I think, though,
if you're going to say something about "Other Battleground states" in a headline
above the fold, you might want to list those states or show them on a map. somewhere
on the front. I like the U.S. flag treatment that fades behind the paper's nameplate.
Very classy.
THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, Augusta, Ga.
The Chronicle has done something I don't think I would have had the guts to
try: To run its big Electoral College map VERY big, across the top of 1A and
to turn its front into a large table of results. Was it a wise choice? An unconventional
choice, granted. But it seems to have worked for them. Judging by the number
of states colored in, I'm guessing we're looking at a very, very late page here.
I wonder how earlier editions ? assuming there were earlier editions ?
looked. Certainly one of the more unusual pages today.
THE SUN-JOURNAL, Lewiston, Maine
The folks in Maine
built a very clean, very well-structured page. The headlines work well ? All
eyes certainly WERE on Ohio. A nicely-chosen photo works well for lead art and
small graphics tell the numbers story in both the lead package and in the referendum
stories at the bottom of the page. The content drives this page, not the art
or the design. Nicely-done.
