newspaper design
newspaper
design
newspaper design
newspaper
design
  
CREATED BY
BRASS TACKS DESIGN

11.9.08

What makes this page a BFD: A story-telling infographic

 
 
The Plain Dealer jumped back into the poster business, which is a great business model if there is something worth commemorating every day. Pity that life isn't like that.

The Union-Tribune seemed a little late with its poster front and dated headline. We saw this page many times over days ago. Note to be outdone in the "going-to-the-well-once too-often-department, the San Francisco Chronicle created a poster of poster pages. Wasn't there any other news in California on Saturday?

The Anchorage Daily News claims that Palin faces 7 challenges. They missed the eighth – how to wipe that goofy grin off her face.

The Arizona Republic claimed that McCain was undone by a "Twist of Fate." Talk about twisted. Editors in Phoenix need merely look at Anchorage to find the cause.

Single-copy sales are particularly important on Sundays. While we love white space, the SunSentinel's front page is too quiet to attract impulse buyers. Makes a great inside page, though. (See Paul Wallen's comment, below)

The Kansas City Star had a remarkable, and probably inadvertent, juxtaposition of images. Better be careful out there. The State's photo-juxtaposition was more upbeat.

The Las Vegas Reivew-Journal had an interesting front page, but it must have looked lame in the box. The Reading Eagle's photo illo made us ill. Montgomery's Tide rolled with a red head.

The newspaper with the best front design today is the Hartford Courant.

There are lots of ways to tell stories: Narrative, headlines, photographs, illustrations, lists, etc. All are equally valid and effective tools. The key to effective story telling is in choosing the best means.

With today's front page, the Hartford Courant wisely chose a map-based informational graphic to describe the shift in votes to the blue column. The Indianapolis Star and the Beaver County Times had the same impulse, but neither delivered with the specifics that Hartford provided.



Send an email direct to Brass Tacks Design.

Click to see all the BFDs in the archives.

   

How to save the Monday paper

To cut costs, newspapers have reduced the size of their pages and the size of their staffs. Next, they'll be dropping their Monday editions, as some already have. Here's why Monday is on the chopping block:
  • Publishers hate it: Because it's a money-losing edition.
  • Readers hate it: There's so little to it – giving lie to the notion that you can't be too thin.
  • Advertisers hate it: If they loved it, they'd advertise in it.
  • Editors hate it: No local news of any consequence happens on Sunday, so there's nothing but wire to put in it.
  • Reporters hate it: Who wants to work on Sunday?
Yes, Monday editions will be going the way of all things – even though it's a terrible mistake for newspapers to make. Here's why:

One of the biggest drivers of daily newspaper readership is habit. And fortunately for newspapers, habits are hard to break. Newspapers would be penny-wise and pound-foolish to interrupt this daily ritual of millions of Americans. Dropping Monday will only give subscribers yet another reason to drop their weekly subscription all together.

But the Monday edition needn't go the way of your Washington bureau. Because there's another way for newspapers to cut back without cutting off their noses. They need only look back 24 hours to find the resources they need to keep their Monday editions afloat.

Newspapers need to take a hard look at their Sunday papers, where they'll find tremendous resources that go to waste every week.

Any editor will tell you that Sunday is "different," but he or she will be hard-pressed to tell you how. They'll claim that people have more time to read on Sunday, but with church, soccer, trips to Home Depot, the NFL – they can't have enough time to read every page of the five-pound behemoth that appears once a week. Logic dictates that much of it must go unread.

If readers do make more time for the Sunday paper, it probably isn't for the content. Our research shows that free-standing advertising inserts from Target, Best Buy, Walgreens, et. al. are the number-one reason people look at the Sunday paper.

Click to see complete story with suggested strategies

RedAndBluePage.com November 7, 2008  
Emanuel Was Director of Freddie Mac NewsBusters

Palin's 2012 Playbook Newsweek

NBC's Matthews: "My job to make Obama successful" NewsBusters

Obama isn't black Spectator

Emanuel Was Director of Freddie Mac NewsBusters

Obama has already broken two promises Newsbusters

Obama: Brothers should pull up their pants Boston Herald

Obama gains from unreligious Weekly Standard

Obama recession is in full swing Rush Limbaugh

Cowards trash Palin National Review

Oregon Town Elects Nation's First Openly Transgender Mayor Fox

Religious Right Still Key to Conservatism's Future CNS News

Franken gains on Coleman StarTribune

See SarahPalin.com entitled "Domain available" redandbluepage.com

GOP lawyer dispatched to retrieve Palin's clothes Los Angeles Times

Watch new press secretary confront Hannity Huffington Post

Letterman mocks McCain's defeat Huffington Post

Nader calls Obama "Uncle Tom" TV Guide

Congressman who slammed liberals loses in N. Carolina McClatchy

Franken gains on Coleman StarTribune

I slammed Sarah Palin and I'd do it again Boston Herald

Obama may create a "climate czar" AmericaBlog

Letterman Unveils Palin's Post-Election Plan AmericaBlog

Obama owes election to Bush TalkingPointsMemo

Brown rips McCain aides for blaming Palin for loss: "You picked her." Think Progress

Sayonara, Sarah The Nation

A guide to cabinet appointments Obama should resist Slate

November 6, 2008  
Michelle Obama's Style Mishap on Election Night Fox

No mandate for Obama Chicago Sun-Times

Stevens still connects with Alaskans Anchorage Daily News

GOP's rising stars Fox

Obama taps Jewish congressman for chief of staff Fox

Gay Marriage Ban Protesters, Police Clash in California Streets Fox

Russia itching to test Obama The Washington Times

Religious Right, RIP Cal Thomas

The best campaign ever – not Fred Barnes

And the winner is…Peggy the Moocher National Review

Obama's promises could be a burden Fox

NYT's Big Election Map Doesn't Show Actual Results TimesWatch

Colbert Tears Up After Obama Announced As President-Elect Huffington Post

Vacating Republicans in DC must sell their houses in terrible market The New York Times

Palin "Didn't Understand Africa Was A Continent" Huffington Post

Judgment day for Lieberman? Huffington Post

The Meaning of Obama's Win Time

Goodbye, Bradley effect The Boston Globe

Why Fox is Throwing Palin Under the Bus Daily Kos

Fox/News Corp Downgraded Amid Losses, Stock Tanks Daily Kos