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?
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?
2 comments:
The placement of the headline "A mother's nightmare" does seem a bit unusual. It's just floating there in space emptied out from the photograph. At first glance of the image I was confused about what the story was about, a smiling mother n daughter with no background to reference what is happening doesn't scream "nightmare" to me. I probably would have placed the mug shot within the text and made the headline bigger and bolder and perhaps even re-write it. The smaller picture below is excellent in providing a heartfelt moment to a horrible story.
I also found the headline to be vague and leaving the reader with questions. In some stories, this might be the intention of a vague headline- to attract the reader to the story, but in this case it was neither appropriate or neccessary. I also thought that the dominant image of the girl with her mother is WAY too large. It's not a good picture (it is cut out on the sides and its not flattering of the subjects) and should not have been used as the focal point for the story. I thought it made the paper look very elementary.
The mugshot was in a very unusual place, but I agree that its placement highlighted the horrific nature of the crime. The other image of the school-children was touching. It worked with the story, but either the sizing or the placement should have been changed because it looked awkward where it was.
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