Todays front page of The San Diego Union-Tribune seemed pretty bland in my opinion. There were only 2 images and they were both centered, leaving a lot of gray bordering the page. The page is not balanced enough with photos. The centerpiece is very interesting, and similar to the story printed before, this features a Marine officer's face cropped. However, in this case, I don't find it to be disrespectful. The teasers don't refer to other stories within the paper, but rather how many stars newly-released movies received. This doesn't seem like a way to invite readers into the rest of the newspaper.

I thought this was a really interesting and light piece on the New York Times website, a story about the Color of the Year for 2008. With the new year around the corner and not a clue in the world that there was an actual Color of the Year, this story caught my eye. Plus I wanted to know what exactly the color was.

Unfortunately or not, I had to find what the color actually looked like in a neat, little interactive sidebar on the website's publication. It gave a look at the previous years' colors and a small cutline for each.

My conflict with the article is that the actual color was clearly featured in the photo above the headline; it was the picture I included above. For the true color, check out the sidebar on the website. Do you think it would be too difficult to feature just one color in the primary photo for the article? Can you think of a way this could be done?

There's been quite a few examples of bad design posted, so I decided to search out an example of (by my estimation) excellent design, and I found this front page for The Press Democrat that really impressed me.

The entire front page of this Oct. 26 edition is dedicated to the California fires. There's a really powerful vertical column of photos, all of which are excellent choices. The flag is placed over the top most photograph, and the headline appears below, dividing the first and second photograph. It could easily be confused for the flag, but the content of the page is so unified that it all comes together very strongly.

There's also some statistics placed over the headline which worked very well to deliver the information quickly in the location the most draws the eye's attention. At the very bottom of the page is also and infographic that chronologically follows the path of the California fires. On either side, the stories chosen represent the different people involved in the fires, as well as the news of the actual fire. There's a story about the firefighters involved, and another about a family who narrowly survived the fire. The application of the photos bleeds between the different stories.

This page grabbed me in a way that a lot of others did not. Would you agree? Are there pages that have affected you the same way?

In my search for editing topics I turned to Professor Keith's suggestion of Poynter.org's Romanesko's blog. While searching through the topics, I came across a poor decision that crossed the New York Times' copy desk a couple of weeks ago. The New York Times was reporting on how the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed interrogation tapes in 2005 and how the "White House" may have been involved. You can check out the story here.

The poor editing decision that came to my attention (a tip from Romanesko) was that the New York Times' original subhead was "White House Role Was Wider Than It Said." Not only does this subhead not provide sufficient information about the story, it also suggests a particular angle. This may also be made worse by the common perception that the New York Times is a liberal newspaper.

Romanesko put an article from Politico.com on Poynter.org that showed the NYT changed the subhead on the online version and planned to print a correction in the paper. The story is here.

Personally, I don't think this subhead was too off from what the article discussed. As a matter of fact, though, not exactly professional, this subhead may lead some liberal or government-wary peoples to read the article. What do you think? Is it right to spice up a headline to try and encourage readership?

I don’t like the photo package on the front page of the Panama City News Herald. The reverse type, graphic star image and italic typeface seem out of place on the cover of a newspaper. I’m all for papers experimenting with modern design, but at what point does it become as tacky as the light up decorations pictured?

I found another interesting front page on newseum.org in which the layout was intriguing. Aside from the large photo that appears in the middle of the page. This page uses a bulleting type system to cite all their main headlines. It's interesting because we were just talking about such a thing in my Writing and Editing for Print class. We were given a list of 10 incredibly interesting and news-breaking headlines, and were asked which ones go on the front page. The class consenus become to list all the headlines on the front page with their appropriate page numbers. Not ony does this save space, but it gets all the news out in one shot.

Here's a much better example of a Rolling Stone cover, circa 1976 - back when they still had the psychedelic type face going on.

The picture of Janis is great. The way the picture is placed, it looks like she literally waltzed on to the page. There she is, in all of her eccentric glory, looking like she's having a lot of fun (that's when it was okay to associate cigarettes with fun). You can almost here her hoarse laughter. The picture looks like a candid shot, which really sets the cool, casual tone of the magazine.

The editors also tastefully placed the text around her silhouette, so that nothing important would be covered (like they covered Syd Barrett's forehead in the previous cover I wrote about).

The headlines are written pretty well, I think. They give the idea of the article without being too descriptive or wordy so that the words overpower the graphics. "Nazi-Hunting" makes me wonder what the heck that piece is about, but I admit it would make me look inside for further information.

So what does everyone think about this vintage Rolling Stone cover compared with the magazine's modern look?

I stumbled upon this interview posted on a blog on Poynter 's website. It's a pretty great read, and substantive. Chip Scanlan ran it on his Chip On Your Shoulder blog. He interviewed Craig Silverman, a Canadian freelance journalist and author, who runs the website RegretTheError.com and wrote the accompanying book entitled, "Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech".

RegretTheError.com tracks errors in publications, as well as what publications do to correct them. They speak at length in the interview about how errors can decrease individual's trust in a publication. Silverman said in the interview, "A survey of newspaper readers by the ASNE found that over 60 percent of readers said they felt better when they saw corrections." This and other statistics that Silverman speaks about lead to the genesis of the website, which according to Silverman gets tens of thousands of hits for his year end round up in particular. This year's went up not to long ago and can be found here.

I found this front page on newseum.org. I thought it was a really good example of front page layout and design.
More and more people seem to fear that sex offenders live in their towns. The big headline calls that to attention. The word sex is in noticeably larger type than the rest giving emphasis to the headline.
I thought the ropes around the word sex was really clever and really gripping.
The image next to the headline is well placed and the colors are easy to see and make it easy on the readers eyes.
I also liked the image on the right side. It's a great picture and works well with the story.
Overall, I liked the design and liked how the main story takes up two thirds of the page, emphasizing its importance.

The National Enquirer ran a story accusing John Edwards of being involved in a “love child scandal.” The tabloid linked Edwards to a women named Rielle Hunter earlier this year, and now is claiming that the baby she is pregnant with is Edwards’. Hunter is said to be living “in hiding” with a former aide of Edwards, Andrew Young, who now claims he is the father. Could all of this be a cover up for Edwards’ presidential campaign? This is what the National Enquirer is suggesting.
I do not know any other information on this story, but it has left me thinking about these tabloid like newspapers. They make bold accusations about celebrities that most of the time are clearly not true. I am surprised that these publications don’t get into more trouble with libel law suits. Why do you think this is?

Really, Rolling Stone?

Truth be told, Rolling Stone is probably my favorite magazine, and I have a great amount of respect and admiration for Pink Floyd, so I'm bound to be overly critical of this April 2007 cover featuring the members.

I love the picture of the band. I'm a big fan of pictures in which each person is looking in a different direction. However, the rest looks like a cheesy montage I might have created when I was a bored sixteen-year-old just learning Adobe Photoshop.

I get the flying pig (a reference to "Pigs on the Wing" from their 1977 album, Animals). And it's a cute idea in theory. But just look at the subhead: "How Madness and Excess Destroyed the Legendary Band." "Madness," "Destroyed," "Legendary"— these are pretty powerful words. The piece sounds tragic and dark - a stark contrast from the cheesy graphics added to an otherwise decent picture of the band. And flames in the background? Are they serious?

I'm also not a fan of the stamp in the top right corner. Come on now, Rolling Stone, you could have found a better spot to place a blurb about JFK than covering the headline (like the pig already does) and the songwriter's forehead.

My problems is that the graphics just don't match the tone of an article about the downfall of such an influential band. I understand the nature of celebrity news, and that Rolling Stone doesn't have to be straightforward and objective - qualities we might attribute more to the New York Times. But it is a fairly reputable music magazine, and I think this page just didn't reach its artistic potential.

So do you think the layout added novelty and color, or did it simply make the cover look cheesy?

When I saw this front page I was confused. That's not something any editor would want to hear but there it is. I don't think I have ever seen a front page as loaded as this one. Everything is crammed together and fighting for space. I found it hard to determine which pictures went with which stories upon first glance. I know, I should take a closer look when reading, but who does that anymore? I think the majority of the reading population thinks like me, get as much information in as little time as possible. That may have been the designers intention here, but they forced in more than the eye can handle. The image on the left side sandwiched between two stories looks like it could go with either story just by reading the headlines. I also thought there was a little much going on at the top of the page. However, I did like the center piece and the local appeal taken. How does everyone else feel about this front page?

Eye tracking study shows design to be extremely important

I came across an article out of USC about a study done to determine how much page design really matters. (http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070312ruel/) I found the article really interesting and it provided me some insight about design.
The first thing they found was that things like lists, subheads and bullet points are the things mostly focused on (which goes to prove that everything we've been learning up to now is right on the nose).
The next thing found was that information not extremely relevant to the story basically gets overlooked. Images that are not related generally get passed over. The article stresses that images should be related to the content in a clear manner with real people in real settings.
We discussed eye tracking briefly in class, but follow the link above to read the full findings.

Last week gossip website X17online.com posted an alleged confession of French supermodel Alexandra Paressant, who claims to have had a two-month affair with NBA superstar Tony Parker. Parker is married to "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria. Since the allegations, both Parker and Longoria have adamantly denied the affair. “I love my wife,” Parker said in a statement from Longoria’s spokeswoman, Liza Anderson. “She’s the best thing in my life, and I have never been happier.”

“Tony has been nothing short of the perfect husband,” said Longoria.

Today, Parker filed a $40 million lawsuit against the website, claiming defamation and invasion of privacy. I understand that what the website posted may not have been true, but so is about 90% of what is said in gossip magazines. I feel as if they may have been targeted. What makes this gossip different from any other?

The suit alleges that Parker was defamed by the publishing of the allegations because the company "had to know that the story was false, or at the very least, it had to have entertained serious doubts about the credibility of its supposed source".

X17 released a statement in their defense reading: "The journalists at X17online conducted extensive research for the reporting of this story and we felt the evidence was too strong to ignore. Alexandra Paressant’s claims were significant and newsworthy and we are continuing to uncover more details each day in our continued investigation."

What do you think of this case? Is it really defamation, or harmless gossip? Where is the line to be drawn? Do you think X17 is being unfairly targeted?

Dealing with Grief on the Front Page

Before I read the headline or anything else in the article, this photo really drew my attention to the centerpiece.
The photo itself not overly dramatic, it is just realistic, and to me, very touching. It reminded me of the way my relatives reacted to deaths in our family, so I could almost feel this woman's pain over the loss of her son (if that were possible). I thought the image was well cropped and placed, and I liked that the editor included a small mugshot of the son to give a face to the victim. I also liked the kicker quote above the headline.

It is actually the headline that I had an issue with. There's no reason to describe for us the way the woman feels, because I think the photo speaks for itself. I think the kicker adds enough emotion, so the headline could have been more straightforward.

The headline may have simply paraphrased a quote in the article, but I don't see an attribution, and a journalist should be careful not to make assumptions the way a person feels, even if it may be obvious.

Maybe I'm wrong--maybe it set the tone for the article. I just think the headline was an overkill, and that it almost sensationalized a serious matter that was emotional enough to begin with.

When I saw this centerpiece on the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune, I immediately thought of the original post made by Professor Keith. Her post, made on November 25, was about a controversial photo of a three-star general in salute that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Like this photo, the crop was through the face of the subject. However, I believe there are distinct differences between the two that need to be noted.

First of all, that was a Veteran's Day piece, so right off the bat the highest respect should be considered when featuring a military officer in a photo. This centerpiece doesn't have to worry about that because this is an article about corporal punishment (physical punishment of military personnel in training).

Moreover, this soldier's name was not disclosed. This may seem trivial, but it really isn't. By revealing the name of the general in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece, they personalized it. By identifying the person in the photo, I believe the photo crop should have been under heavier scrutiny. The photo shown here was of an anonymous person. For all the reader knows, this could just be a model in the studio posing for a shot. Who can really be sure?

Finally, this photo crop is appropriate because it accurately encapsulates the appearance of a drill instructor in the military. The brim held closely over the peering eyes accomplishes this very well. In the other case, there was no good reason to cut the general's photo across the face, aside from the photographer's excuse: "We were trying something different."

To sum up, I thought this "face-cut crop" was acceptable and the one that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was not for the reasons I stated above. What do you think? Do you think this crop was more appropriate considering its context? Or do you think are they in the same boat and under no circumstances should a military figure get a "face-cut crop?"

Last April, The Society for News Design released its 28th annual list of the “Worlds Best Designed Newspapers”. Of the top four contenders, none were American papers. This struck me as odd, but it also disappointed me. I, like many Americans, often believe that all things American must be the best. Yet I was proven very wrong. The winning paper was Aripaev from Tallinn, Estonia. In second, third, and fourth place, respectively, were El Economista of Madrid, Spain, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung of Frankfurt, Germany, and Politiken of Copenhagen, Denmark.

I was surprised that an American paper did not make the top 4 just due to sheer ability. Don’t we have the some of the world’s best technology and education? Even if we didn’t have the talent, I would think that the software and technology we have would allow us to design better newspapers than Estonia!

I guess this was a real eye opener. What do you think? What are these countries doing (or what do they know) that we don’t? In looking through some of their covers, there does seem to be an element of “clean” that is rarely found in American papers. Perhaps we have yet to learn that less is more?

Browsing through the "Today's Front Pages" section of Newseum.org has often left me underwhelmed. Every once in a few pages something looks OK, but most look like standard newspapers with nothing separating them from each other.

Maybe it's because I follow sports and am familiar with this ongoing situation with the Atlanta Falcons, but I think the Atlanta Journal-Constitution got this centerpiece just right. You can see it larger here.

Falcons' owner Arthur Blank (seen in the center, circle picture of the package) has had a rough run lately. Over the summer, his franchise quarterback, Michael Vick (lower right) was convicted on dog fighting charges. Last week, his chosen head coach Bobby Petrino (lower left) set out for better pastures by accepting the head coaching job at Arkansas, leaving the Falcons without a coach mid-season. Just as things appeared as if they might get better by hiring legendary coach Bill Parcells (upper right) to run football operations in Atlanta, he decides to head further south to Miami.

I think this package sums the situation up quite well. The headline "Burned Again" is a perfect description of what Blank's life has been like lately. I especially like the way the photos are organized around Blank in the center. Even Blank's facial expression seems downtrodden which drives home the tone of the piece beautifully. I know most of you are probably not as familiar with this story as I am, but it does a great job. If you wish, you can read more about the story here. What do you guys think of the way the photo's are organized around Blank?

I just wanted to make a post of the most talked about piece of news I've seen in a while; Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister is pregnant. As I was driving to work this morning, I heard this bit of news on three separate news radio stations, and when I finally entered work, at least five people came up to me and asked me if I had heard the news. It made me wonder what are news is exactly about today. Instead of the normal headlines that appear in newspapers such as global events, or news has become filled with headlines about Britney Spears. And while I understand why this has become part of the main stream news (because the girl was an apparent role model for others) I'm not sure it has become the main story, and why it is the only one that people care to talk about.

I stumbled upon this Scottsdale Tribune front page while browsing Newseum's Today's Front Pages. The extremely large photograph they chose for the front page reminded me of one of the choices we had for our feature stories assignment. I didn't find either photo to be particularly compelling, especially given the size they chose for this one. The repetition in the photo is nice, and the children certainly seem riveted to their screen, but all one really gets to see is their backs.

I began browsing around Newseum and found a lot of similar pictures of children making the front page. I couldn't help but feel like these were fall back stories, possibly even ones they had in reserve for slow news days. Is a lack of content leading to these boring center pieces? I'm guessing it must either be that or the smaller distribution of these publications. I can't, after all, make the same claims about the larger papers, just the Scottsdale Tribune (above), the Norwich Bulletin, and the South Bend Tribune (below).

This past Saturday was the fifth "birthday" of Creative Commons. For those of you who aren't familiar with CC, it is a license for sharing digital content that retains some of the rights for its creator. At the same time, it allows non-commercial use and distribution of the work as long as it is accompanied by attribution. There a CC primer here that's pretty entertaining and informative.

The much more interesting announcement that took place at the fifth birthday was that of a new, commercial license under Creative Commons, the CC+ license. It would allow for , by my understanding, commercial use of creative work. Someone looking to use a photograph on Flickr for commercial use, for example, would be able to click through on the image and it would take them directly to an agency that would represent the artist. The could work out the terms of payment online and begin using the work immediately in their publication. The breadth of options for photographs for within a layout could expand considerable to include non-professional photographers who never imagine licensing their work.

Additional information about the Creative Commons non-profit organization who uphold these licenses can be found here. And a list of some places using CC can be found here.

Looking at the before and after of the Yakima Herald-Republic classified section, it becomes very clear how much good design matters. The top image is the former design; it is cluttered, colorless, and confusing. There is so much text that your eyes don't know where to look, especially towards the bottom. The upper right corner features a series of numbers and letters that, after a few glances, the reader can figure out is actually three different phone numbers. As we were warned by our professor, the use of multiple typefaces can be confusing, and this is a prime example. The "509" area code is especially confusing; it is so much smaller than the rest of the phone number, and because of where it is, it just seems float purposelessly. There is so much information in such a small space that, in my opinion, it makes the reader not want to read it at all.

The "after" design is a breath of fresh air. The color definitely makes it more attractive, but its design is what really draws the reader. It looks clean and organized. All the contents are neatly listed to the bottom right, and all the pricing information from the original design has been eliminated. Only the necessary information is left, which allows the reader to actively seek (rather than be bombarded with) the information they want. The bottom design is visually pleasing, and therefore, inviting. And that is very important for a section like the classifieds. A successful classified section will attract readers and sell its contents, so when readers are turned-off, that could mean the end of that section, as so many papers have learned firsthand.

What do you think of the before and after? What are the benefits of a well-designed page? What do you think about the trend of newspaper classified sections coming to an ending?

How much does color count?

When browsing through the pages of a newspaper or magazine, what is it that catches your attention? Is it breaking news coverage of an event that occurred in the next town over? Or maybe the final score of the big game you had money riding on? If it isn’t the actual story being told, maybe it’s the way it’s being delivered. Do high-action headlines capture your attention, drawing you into every detail of a story? Drop caps and pull quotes add drama and intrigue to stories while photographs demonstrate what’s happening or who’s involved. Could it be color that hooks— images in varieties of shades that help to illustrate the mood? In my opinion, it’s not so much the different colors on a page, as it about how the colors work together to strengthen the impact of what the reader is looking at.

Pegie Stark Adam, author of “Color in Newspapers: Four Case Studies,” discusses the effects that color has on a page. One of the four case studies, the one I am concerned with, is when she looked at the idea of color as a unifying device for art, design, headlines, and graphics. Adam says, “Color can be used as an information device in very specific ways, such as a punctuation device to help the reader travel through the journey of the page. Color can be used to unify elements in a package.” In other words, how colors on an entire page work in harmony. “Our eyes long for relationships and they try to create relationships by grouping like objects and elements,” she goes on to say. “When one color is used in an illustration, a headline and a fact box, the eye gathers all those pieces together to create a unified package.” With this, Adam is noting the relative importance of one color acting as a page’s unifier, rather than numerous colors spread out without purpose.

To look at examples of this, I refer to the front pages of The Tampa Tribune and the Las Vegas Sun on Wednesday. The standout feature on the Tribune’s front page is that of the water bottle. Not only does it have a commanding presence with the way that it’s shown up top with the nameplate, but it sets the color tone of the page. The light blue from the label is reused to convey spilling water and is also seen in the floating deck about the article’s headline. Follow the blue as it fades down the center of the page and it leads you to a small photograph on the left side. The photo of the building and sky has a very chilled, stark feeling and the blue tones are again mimicked in another area on the page. Separately, these similarities might not mean anything, but when the reader looks at the front page as a whole, all the elements work together cohesively because the color works with the flow of the page, rather than against it.

The other example is the front page of the Las Vegas Sun. Just from the name of the newspaper I get a sense of warmth, but that feeling is further enhanced when the warm shades of yellow and gold are seen in various parts of the page. From the sun graphic in the nameplate and the teaser headline up top to the gold-colored tool in the tire photo and all the glowing light bulbs in the dominant photo, the warm yellow colors allow the pieces of the front page to come together as collaborative units.

This technique of pulling colors from photos is not only common in newspapers, but widely seen in magazines. I personally love the way it looks, in newspaper or magazine. I think it adds a fresh spin on connecting stories that would otherwise be unrelated. What other benefits could you see to there being one cohesive color on a page? Are there ways to incorporate more than one color without the unity being lost? What kinds of limitations should design and copy editors take when deciding what text they will make color?

Victoria's Secrets

She was 1/5 of the biggest female pop group in the world to date. Her husband is recognized internationally, admired for his athleticism and his body. And her family is made brighter by her three young boys. Around the world, she plays the character of Posh Spice, but in Elle's January issue, writer Holly Millea attempts to give readers a glimpse at the woman behind all of that — Victoria Beckham. But in the article, titled “Victor Victoria,” Victoria Beckham appears to show as much warmth and sincerity as she does in the paparazzi pictures and on the red carpet. As an audience, of not just the magazine but also pop culture and celebrity gossip culture, I feel very informed on Victoria Beckham’s move to the U.S., her fashion book, her reunion with the Spice Girls, and her aspirations of being a brand. Unfortunately, these are the things focused on in the article. When I think of Victoria Beckham, I think of a person who is reserved, conservative, and, truthfully, cold. And Millea’s interview with the star did very little to change my impression of her or reveal new sides of Beckham that I had not previously known. While there were points in the interview where Beckham disclosed heartfelt stories from her past that one might sympathize with, in my opinion they were no different than the sad stories celebrities tell of their pasts. To me, Beckham’s attempt to pull on the heart strings felt very contrived.

But aside from the content of the article, the way Elle packaged the story along with photos, headline, subheadline, and drop caps is visually decadent yet clean. The combination of light and heavy typefaces is balanced, while the drop caps are a study in minimalism. Photos are layered and fitted together like a quilted collage. The way the photos are cut out, with rounded free-flowing edges, and fit together is unlike anything I’ve seen in magazine editorials. The combination of fashion photography with landscape photography adds depth and interest to every spread. The technique of layers and cutouts is reminiscent of a child’s arts and crafts project, except this time, the end result is chic and, like the subject herself, quite posh.

The middle picture above is a photo I took of one of the pages of the spread, to get an idea of the cutout style used. I believe you can click on the picture to make it bigger.

How do you feel about this style of laying out photos? Is it too busy? What about the article? After reading it, do you feel you've gotten to see a more intimate portrait of Victoria Beckham, or was the story a publicity move to show how domestic Victoria can appear?

Below is a behind the scenes video of the Elle photo shoot, shot by Gilles Bensimon, just for fun.

The wowPhone: A Product of Synergy and Lazy?


In a special issue (The World in 2008) of The Economist, I came across an article about a growing trend among cell phone users. The article, “Buying and Celling” by Tom Standage was in the business section of what I would consider a bland and colorless business and politics magazine. I have to admit the only reason I stopped at the page of the article was because of an accompanying photo showing two women standing in front of a Gucci building. But stepping back and looking at the whole package of the article, with its headline, photo, text, and other design attributes, I assessed that it was an attractive spread — granted it was very basic and minimalist. The headline was not eye-catching. The drop cap was not particularly inspiring. Even the deck wasn’t one to gawk over. But as a complete package, it worked, especially considering the source — The Economist, a magazine not exactly known for its frills.

Along with the photo, there is a bar graph on top of the image that delivers data on the amounts of bank branches, ATMs, and mobile subscriptions in countries like the USA and UK, to Kenya, China, and Mexico. The use of color in this graph is eye-catching and the idea of combining the infographic with the photo is innovative.

The article talks about the increasing capabilities of mobile phones in our ever-evolving technology-obsessed society. Standage first identifies the three main things most every person keeps with them: their keys, wallet, and cell phone. He then proposed the compaction of these items into one. The technology known as “Near Field Communication” (NFC) is a chip that would be embedded in phones, allowing them to be used as credit cards. The world over is beginning to take notice of the possibilities, remodeling their scanning equipment to allow for this advanced technology. In Japan, where this all began, people use contactless Suica cards “to pay for train fares and make purchases from shops and vending machines.” Japanese users are now beginning to incorporate Mobile Suica, which lets people’s phones act as Suica cards. Essentially this plays on the idea of scan-and-go credit and debit cards that are issued by banks in the United States and frequently used when purchasing gas or at convenience stores.

I think this synergy of mobile phone technology with quick-spending is more than likely to be a concept Americans will devour. It plays on our very desire for increased convenience. With the 2007 release of the Apple iPhone, a mobile device capable of email, internet access, playing video and music, taking photos, navigation, and oh yeah — making telephone calls, its obvious that people want to streamline these functions into one tool. With possibilities provided by the contacless NFC chip, the abilities of cell phones are beginning to seem endless. The article even goes on to say that the world’s biggest lock-makers are interested in working with the NFC capabilities.

The focus of the article poses many questions. What affects will this technology have on the sales of desktop computers and laptops, as they will eventually become obsolete? With our increasing reliance of products that do things for us, is it possible we’ll become dependent? Where will technology progress from here in terms of convergence? In terms of layout and design, how does the spread complement the subject of the article and does the combination of the graph and photo distract from the other? Another question — is it really that big of a pain to carry a wallet along with your phone?

Plus, I like my credit cards.

Libel?

I found this front page on SportsDesigner.com and decided to post it becaues it is on the same topic as my other post regarding the New York Times front page about baseball players and supplement use.

This page is taken from The Trentonian, and talks about MLB Steroid use. Obviously, the title is meant to crack a joke on Clemens and the debate on his steroid usage.

To me, this violates every point we talked about in class concerning libel when dealing with a private figure. Sportsdesigner says that they story is technically accurate, as the trainer testified to injecting steroids "in the butt." Do you think this constitutes libel?

Obviously, Clemens is a public figure so he would have to show that the media acted with actual malice. In my opinion, while this title is tasteless and horrible it does not constitute actual malice if the article is showing support and evidence from the trainer. What do you think about this title and should it have been published?

Tasty Teasers!

I decided to look at my hometown newspaper, The News Journal, to see the front page on newseum.org.

Before I even got to the centerpiece I noticed how creative the teasers were. I think this is the best example of teasers that I have seen this semester. The cookies story immediately caught my eye with the two cookies forming the o's in the word. Aside from that, the picture of Brian Westbrook jumping over the word "Journal" is also very eye catching. It look as if he is almost jumping off the page towards the reader.

These two exciting and creative teasers also have very good placement in my opinion. It puts the teaser with no graphic in the middle, so that the exciting teasers box it in making the reader read it because it is smack in the middle of the two eye catching ones. I think this is excellent placement because while the other two teaser stories are more creative, the one in the middle about the banks is the most relevant story to the average Delaware reader. You might be want to read about Christmas cookies and the Pro Bowl, but the other story the reader may need to read because it directly effects them.

Do you like these teasers and how they are placed? Another reason I thought these teasers were so creative is perhaps maybe they had to be because the centerpiece doesn't seem to be that exciting or eye catching to the page. What do you think? Do you think the teasers are attractive to draw more attention to the page, or is it just luck they happened to fall on a day with a not so exciting centerpiece?

Do you have what it takes?

http://desktoppub.about.com/b/2003/09/12/art-direction-do-you-have-what-it-takes.htm

This article poses the question our design class raised for all of us... do you have the creativity to design successful layouts for newspapers? The article offers the following two links:

http://www.ronreason.com/simple/index.html
http://www.ronreason.com/simple2/index.html

They're quick "quizzes" that prompt you with a design scenario, and encourage you to take 30-seconds to sketch out your design solution to the situation they create. Take a minute and try! I was suprised at the solutions they offered to having poor quality images, or no images at all.

Don't feel bad if you're ideas aren't half as creative as theirs are...you're not alone.

It is obvious that newspaper journalism is changing and has to find ways to adapt to the internet and television. Last class we worked on soundslides to show how print and photographic journalism can come to life on the computer. In my opinion, this program is extremely useful for embracing the modern turn of journalism. In her article, Blurring Boundaries: What Print Journalists Can Learn from Video Editors, Regina McCombs addresses the issues with multimedia journalism. She interviewed four television editors and asked for their critique on how audio slideshows could be improved for better storytelling. Ram Guzman, chief editor at KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth made a very interesting observation regarding the transformation of print journalism and "said he really liked what he saw. 'It seemed like the line between print and TV is changing, and people are bridging that gap.'"

Since we just learned about slideshows, I thought it would be interesting to pass on some of the information I read to the rest of the class in case anyone has to work with slideshows in the future.
Some tips that were suggested with the slideshows were:
- Be conscious about pacing and timing. Just because you really like an image, doesn't mean everyone else will be as fascinated by it. Have it serve its purpose and move on.
- Don't overly use effects such as dissolve and swipe just because you have them.
- Don't rely too much on narration, sometimes the best sound is from what you might be shooting at the time; environmental sounds

Overall, the television editors were excited about the potential for slideshows and said they'll be looking out for more. I guess it was a good thing we learned them when we did.

Do you feel like slideshows will have an important part in the future of journalism? What do you think about the tips the television editors gave?

WED?

WED is a philosophy of journalism that focuses on the print media. Never heard of it? We studied it all semester, but the Poynter seminars have coined this term to describe the integration of writing, editing, and design.

http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.4862/content.content_view.htm

“The "W" comprises not only writing but reporting and research, of stories as well as headlines, subheads, captions, promos, and at-a-glance boxes.

The "E" comprises not only editing but coordinating and making sense of all the raw materials of journalism. This includes making connections among various parts of a news product, such as promos from the front page of a paper or links in an online service.

The "D" comprises not only design, but photography, art and illustration, color, typography, and informational graphics.


The article also describes some key elements of the WED philosophy:

PLANNING for the future, to anticipate and make the most of potential developments in major news stories;

TEAMWORK to unite all areas of the news operation - writers, editors, photographers, copy editors, artists, designers - and to maximize the contributions of each;

COOPERATION among fellow journalists, to share knowledge as early as possible in the story process and to make the most efficient use of precious news holes;

RESPECT for your audience, and the realization that there is greater competition for their attention than ever before, and that this necessitates making the news report not only smarter but faster and easier to get through

This philosophy was introduced by Dr. Mario Garcia in the mid-1980s. He describes the term in detail in his textbook, Contemporary Newspaper Design.

http://www.garcia-media.com/NeHome.asp

He is now the president of Tampa-base Garcia-Media, a high-profile design firm, which you can check out using the link above.



A clip from the website described newspaper design as:
“not derived from any formula or particular style. There are no theories of newspaper design. Newspaper design is deeply rooted in practical realities and is more organic than any abstract theoretical process. Newspapers must fit in with their city, their readers, and the communities they serve. Each newspaper must have its own identity and personality.”

Garcia’s group analyze mediums to deliver a comprehensive report based on extensive research to offer what areas may need improvement including structure, content, and editing ideas to gain readers.

Could this offer an unfair advantage to mediums that have a greater disposable income?

When I look at the front page of The East Valley Tribune I see stacks and stacks of grey text. There is one big picture along with the Arizona voting article, but the rest of the photos are very small mugs or graphics. The teasers are more compelling photos, but overall I’m really not impressed with this page. I don’t know about anyone else, but I doubt I’d pick up a copy of today’s paper.

In coming across this front page in http://www.newseum.org/ , I was horrified by the quality of the photograph used in the centerpiece as well as throughout the rest of the page. You can see this page here at http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf18/CA_SBNP.pdf . The main photograph in the Christmas mail delivery centerpiece is so blurry and out of focus in the background that it makes my eyes hurt. The headline running above the photograph is also ineffective as it has far too many words. If I have to take so long to read the headline, I probably would not want to get to the story. I also think the headline lacks creativity. The out of focus photograph of the delivery man might have had the intention to make it look rushed, as the story is about the start of the busiest season for mail delivery. However, the fuzzy image is far too distracting for someone who is attempting to read the paper. I also would have liked the cutline below the photograph to tell me more about the story than I already know from the headline. In addition, I feel it was not necessary to picture the same delivery man twice by showing him again in a smaller photograph running under the main one. I think the centerpiece would have been more effective if the second smaller photograph was chosen as the main photo, while the other photograph was taken out entirely. When glancing at the rest of the surrounding stories, I noticed that not only were the photographs out of focus, but they were also too small. The photos used in the other stories are so small and blurry that I cannot even see the faces of the people pictured. What are your thoughts about the use of photos on this page?

The front page of the Anchorage Daily News made me stop for a minute and reflect on the war. This is an excellent and powerful use of images, putting young men’s faces on a story that I have started to tune out. A front page like this is something I couldn’t ignore, and forced me to think about soldiers losing their lives oversees. These photos stacked and edited like the pages of a high school yearbook, next with the headline “Remember the Fallen” are overwhelming.


Another great example of powerful war images occurred in Seattle in 2004. The Seattle Times ran a photograph of US soldiers’ coffins. This is against Pentagon regulations for the press, but the Times chose to run it.



I think the media has a tendency to show the positive side of war over the negative, and I think it’s important to see images like these.

In browsing through http://www.newseum.org/, I came across this front page
http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf18/CA_OT.pdf . The centerpiece on the little girl, who protected her mother from being shot by her ex-boyfriend, touched my heart. The large cutout photograph of the mother and her child works very well as it immediately grabs attention of the reader that such a small child was so brave to save her mother’s life from gun shots. I think this photo does an excellent job at portraying the young girl’s innocence and joy, and it is hard to believe the horrifying injuries she is now recovering from traumatic injuries and fighting for her life explained in the cutline. I also think the smaller photo underneath the main one adds a sentimental value to the centerpiece package by showing the scrapbook of the injured girl’s classmates wishing her to get well. I do however think that the smaller photo should have been bigger. In addition, I feel that such a shocking story deserves a larger typeface in the headline. I do think that the gray color used for the font of the headline is effective in conveying the somber mood of the story. I also liked the use of small mug shot of the man who shot both his girlfriend and his child. Its positioning is very unique as I never seen a mug shot placed right inside the space of the main photo. I think this placement of the photo adds more powerful meaning behind the horrible crime he has committed. Also, the placement of the headline within the photograph is unique, as it seems to be floating above the head of the young girl who has suffered so much to save her mother. I felt the headline was a bit vague and could have done more to sum up the story. However, by not giving too much away in the headline, saying it is “A mother’s nightmare”, and floating the headline above the smiling faces of mother and child, makes the reader wish to know more about what happened. Do you think the headline should have been rewritten and resized or is it appropriate to the story? What are your thoughts about the photographs used in the story?

Chip Scanlan holds a column entitled, Chip on Your Shoulder on poytner.org. This column, http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=134345, argues exactly the principle Dr. Keith has stressed for months; we all need an editor.





"Each misspelled word, bad apostrophe, garbled grammatical construction, weird cut line and mislabeled map erodes public confidence in a newspaper's ability to get anything right," a 1998 study commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors concluded. "Even seemingly small errors feed public skepticism about a newspaper's credibility."

He introduces a freelance writer; Craig Silverman who believes it is best to expose the mistakes of journalists. He includes a link to Silverman’s site, which includes his new book, “ Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute and Imperil Free Speech.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/newspapers/crunks-05-the-year-in-media-errors-and-corrections


The article includes a recent interview he held with the author:


Scanlan: What was the genesis of "Regret the Error"?

Silverman: It was a combination of wanting to start a media blog and noticing that corrections in particular were a fascinating and un-mined part of journalism. I came up with the idea of tracking errors and corrections early in 2004 and was inspired to move ahead after I saw this July correction from the Lexington Herald-Leader: "It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission." That told me there would be a lot to say about corrections and errors. So I launched in October 2004.

This site examines mistakes in several different mediums, year by year beginning with 2004. I definitely recommend taking a look at this site, and even checking out some of the links he includes. Here is one example:

http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-99.php

Are these sites beneficial to journalists to understand the importance of accuracy and fact checking, or are they further detriment to our profession?

As Silverman explains:

:There has been a lot of scholarly research aimed at discovering the level of error in U.S. newspapers... Overall, the research suggests that between 40 and 60 percent of newspaper news stories have some type of error, be it factual or something of a more subjective nature. So that's the frequency. But here's the other part of the equation: Research from Maier published this year found that only 2 percent of factual errors were corrected. So we have a relatively high error rate, and that is compounded by an anemic correction rate. Errors are not being prevented, and they are not being corrected.”

He goes on to acknowledge the impact and repercussion our society of bloggers can have in publishing these errors, that may go on to be cited in research or even used in press releases. This snowball effect he describes as, “ the errors of today become the errors of tomorrow…” He stresses, almost obsessively how important it is to take responsibility for our stories, and do everything we can to prevent or correct any error.

“A survey of newspaper readers by the ASNE found that over 60 percent of readers said they felt better when they saw corrections. They don't expect perfection; they expect us to work hard to prevent errors and to correct any that occur. When we don't do that, they punish us by tuning out.”

What do you think?

With the talk of global warming affecting all of the climate changes we are experiencing today, I found a story on http://www.msnbc.com/ examining the consequences of this rapid environmental change. I thought that the story is extremely detailed in its explanation of the effects around the globe as well as its explanations on what can be done to slow down global warming. The page’s layout particularly caught my eye, as there is a nice use of multimedia and slideshows throughout the page. You can see the story here at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22226310/ These slide shows and videos are effective in showing the consequences of global warming already in effect. Also, the use of diagrams and maps on what areas will be affected by rising seas is a wonderful visual for the reader who wants to know more about this global problem. I did however think that the use of multimedia may have been a bit too overwhelming, as there are far too many links surrounding the story, and may thus take reader’s attention away from the story. I think the page would have been more effective if there were a couple of videos and slides but not as many as were included. I think the story is successful in providing links to other stories on related topics as well as its inclusion of a podcast of a researcher speaking about the melting ice in Greenland. I also thought the use of cutlines in the slideshows did a wonderful job of explaining the effects of greenhouse effect around the world, especially the use of caption to explain the spread of disease in refugee camps of Africa. What are your thoughts on the layout of this page and the use of multimedia? Do you think the use of multimedia is overwhelming or is just right for conveying the problem of global warming in an interactive way?

Wycleff Jean was asked about the Fugees and Lauryn Hill in a Rolling Stone magazine interview. Even though Wycleff Jean begins his answer with the words “I think,” I think Lauryn Hill could win in a libel case against the magazine for publishing this:


How did you leave things with her?

I felt sorry for her, because I think she needs psychiatric help. I felt like she's bipolar. You can't get angry with someone who's sick. So I even called her mom, and I stressed to her, "Yo, you need to get her psychiatric help." But I think they all fear her to death. She wasn't always like this — but if someone has the ego and you keep feeding the ego, it's going to turn monstrous.


Any thoughts?

When scrolling through stories on http://www.ew.com/ I came across a story on America’s Next Top Model. You can take a look at the story at http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164649,00.html . What struck me about this story is the way the caption is written. It has an interesting play on words in the cutline, although it seems insulting to the model. The caption reads: “Barbie Dull: Chantal needs to add some drama to her glama.” The caption does two things by creating word play and altering the word “glamour” into “glama” and changing “baby doll” into “Barbie Dull”. Although “glama” is grammatically incorrect, it works here as it creates a rhyme with “drama” capturing the reader’s attention. By placing the two concepts of glamour and drama simultaneously in the reader’s mind, makes the reader question if the model, who although beautiful, has anything to offer as a person. Overall, I felt that the cutline, although creatively written, is belittling to women. By changing the word “Doll” to read “Dull” creates the impression that a model, who is expected to be glamorous, is boring and lacks personality. Further, I find the word "baby" as sexist in itself and changing it to “Barbie” gives the impression of the model as a dumb blonde who is nothing but an object. As I read through the story itself, the writer is throwing out many questions to the reader, asking if the girl referred to in the picture and caption even deserves to be in the top three. The headline including this play on words: “The great fall of China” is demeaning as well as the story points out that there is no chance in Beijing that this model is going to win this contest. The whole story appears to be thrashing this poor model, and reading it made me think of how many young girls watch this show and look up to these models. The play on words of comparing a woman to a doll, which is in itself an object and then saying she is dull, is a double insult to both her appearance and inner qualities. What are your thoughts on the use of this caption and headline? How do you think reading this article may affect the reader?

The front page of The Tampa Tribune did something today that I thought was really interesting and eye catching. Instead of using a photo to illustrate the "Tide Turning Against Flood of Empties" article, it used a graphic of a water bottle spilling onto the front page.
I'm not sure how the paper could of illustrated the story using a photo to really get the message across but I think this method works.
It really brings the viewers eye to the story in my opinion. I also like the blue font color used for "Water Bottle Backlash" because it accentuates the blue color on the page from the graphic.
The statistics are also helpful for the reader to understand why this story is important. With Americans consuming bottled water more than any other drink, the story examines the affect this has on the environment. Other newspapers have recently done similar stories on plastics and energy conservation as well so I believe it is definitely an issue newspapers are trying to bring to the attention of the public.

Un-publishing Bad News?



Bob Steele and Bill Mitchell, recently published this article,
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=129083 investigating the issue that was later published by Clark Hoyt of The New York Times.

Hoyt, the Public Editor of The New York Times, recently addressed a business strategy of the prominent daily that seems to be causing distress to its readers. The New York Times has its articles pop-up first on search engines, such as Google, in spite of how outdated, inaccurate, and incomplete the article may be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/opinion/26pubed.html?pagewanted=2&n=Top/Opinion/The Public Editor&_r=1

He says that roughly once a day readers are coming forward to complain about the potential affects these inaccurate/outdated/ or misreported articles may have on their reputation, their search for new jobs, or their personal business.

He includes several examples of complaints, including: “A person arrested years ago on charges of fondling a child said the accusation was false and the charges were dropped. The Times reported the arrest but not the disposition of the case. A woman said her wedding announcement 20 years ago gave the incorrect university from which she graduated. She is afraid prospective employers who Google her will suspect résumé inflation.”

This sort of material used to be limited to microfilm of newspaper clippings. Today, the Internet allows immediate retrieval of this information, available to anyone with access. Does this increase the roll of editor’s to minimize harm to their readers? What can be done to protect these citizens that feel victimized by the publication?

Could stories in need of further research be deterred from popping up in search results? Would follow up stories be published at the request of angry readers? Would past articles be deleted from the archive?

What do you think, and how would you feel if this happened to you?

Later in the article, reference is given to Poytner’s "10 Good Questions to Ask to Make Good Ethical Decisions. Use this link as a guide when deciding how to respond to removal requests from your audience.

In viewing newseum.org, the front page of the Lewiston Tribune caught my eye. I think the publication did a great job of capturing both hard hitting news and a human interest story all in the same package.
The top story, "Fuel economy increase gets OK," is displayed at the top of the page to clearly show that it is the most important story. The story discusses the controversial issue of Congress passing a mandate that allows the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years.
As a reader, I would most likely read this story first and I think it is a good idea that it is not displayed on a nation page on the inside even though it is a wire story.
In using descending font sizes in headlines, the publication directs readers to the most important stories down the page. The difference in font sizes also stops clashing headlines between the two top stories.
The feature, "At 105 she's hardly worse for the wear," is accompanied by a large photo that shows Clara Dehass in a festive picture with a Christmas tree in the background.
Both the headline and the photo convey the same message, which is that Clara looks like a healthy older woman who happens to be the oldest living person in Idaho. Especially living in a youth obsessed culture, it is good to see stories focused on different age groups. I also like how the pull quotes are arranged in a gray box with black type to add more of a graphic looking element to the page. My only criticism is that the cutline does not reach half-way across the photo.
All in all I think it is a solid front page package from a design and editorial point of view.

In keeping with the theme of libel problems that journalists face, the ever so controversial National Enquirer is reporting that presidential hopeful John Edwards has gotten his "alleged mistress" pregnant. The National Enquirer has gained the reputation of a sleazy tabloid and has been threatened with legal action regarding an article claiming Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant.

However, it is not the actions of the National Enquirer that I am interested in right now. Perez Hilton is not considered to be the most reputable journalistic source, however he has gained increasing popularity through his website. Considering what we have learned about libel, journalists and gossip columnists are not safe from being sued for libel by simply providing the source through whom they received the information. Perez commits a journalistic no-no when he uses the word alleged to describe the mistress that may or may not exist. If this information turns out to be false, Perez could face some problems for simply republishing some juicy information and misrepresenting the facts.

To see the entire page visit perezhilton.com

The East Bay Daily News front page cover today wasn't very appealing in my opinion. In choosing to focus on the weather by emphasizing a huge photo of a child playing in the rain, I think the publication should of focused on something more newsworthy.
Although the kid is undeniably adorable and the text accompanying the photo has a warm and cozy message attached to it, I don't believe it is something that should grace the front page of any daily news publication.
Plus, the headline is a bit bland and the decision to use reverse type makes it seem like this story is supposed to be important. It made me question if there was anything else going on Wednesday in Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Oakland or Rockridge where the paper is circulated.
I dislike leads in news stories that focus on the weather but I believe I dislike weather stories even more unless the weather has really affected a large group of people by posing some sort of inconvenience.
Also, I think the story entitled, "One More Time Around," which talks about the Albany councils decision to suspend the policy of rotating the mayoral post is more newsworthy and deserves more prominence than a kid playing in the rain.

Here is the front page for the below post.

While looking through Newseum.org, I found an interesting front page from the San Francisco Examiner. The type of layout it uses, is one that I don't remember ever seeing. For one thing, the paper lacks any piece of an article. It is merely filled with headlines and pictures. The feature story on the cover is blatant by the huge size of the type of its headline. There is also much collor from the graphics about the geese, and also several other types of photos. When I first saw this, my first reaction was that I did not like that no stories were featured on the page. Normally, when you are pulled into a headline, you begin to read right on the front page. The absence of this originally turned me off, but then I thought that he was a very clever way to get people to buy the newspaper. When people become attracted to the flashy headlines, they will automatically have to open the paper to read further, unlike other newspapers where the reader can simply read the nut paragraphs right on the front page. This reminds of the way a tabloid magazine operates. People become attracted to the unique headlines and photos on the front cover while waiting on the check-out line, pick it up, begin reading, and eventually buy it.

While searching for editing and design topics to write about, I decided to check out my local paper from Lyndhurst, NJ, The Record. The story most specific to my area was about the high price of sending packages to American soldiers in Iraq. No doubt about it, this story sits perfectly with the holiday season and probably many other consumers who question the postal service during the holidays.

While the story may have potential for readership, above all, the headline definitely works against it. You can see the online version of the story here. The headline reads, "The High Cost of Supporting the Troops". To me, this article could be any number of things: death rates, expenses of the government, etc. Aside from its lack of originality, it also has a very negative, potentially biased, feel to it. No one likes spending too much money, especially during the holidays, so high costs are always a no-no. Furthermore, support for the troops tends to be universally, if also superficially, supported. So, if high prices are instituted for doing something everyone supports, the headline suggests that the United States Postal Service is doing something wrong by not giving this local American Legion, as well as others, a discount.

Aside from my problem with the headline is the picture that accompanies the online story. It is way too small! What is going on? What are they packing? What do these women look like? From an editing and design point of view, especially online, it makes no sense to me why pictures for The Record could not be bigger to express the tiny details, and maybe strengthen the story. For an example of a newspaper that electronically publishes their stories with good-size photographs check out the New York Times.