Some readers chaffed over what they have seen on the front page of late: Especially bothersome were blockbuster packages about the Jaguars, a video game and Ramadan.
“Today takes the cake,” Suanne Thamm exclaimed after Tuesday’s A-1 centerpiece story and photo about people waiting in line to get an early copy of the much-anticipated Halo 3 video game.
Relegated to the inside, Thamm observed, was a story about a judge rejecting a proposed constitutional amendment to slash property taxes.
“Perhaps the Times-Union just needs to move to the tabloid format so that all the entertainment, celebrity sightings and sports can supplant real news,” Thamm said. “I understand that celebrities and scandals sell papers. But must we compromise our region’s need for real news and investigative reporting into the issues that affect our pocketbooks and our futures?”
The Halo 3 story – much the buzz in some circles – exemplified how differently newspapers play stories on any given day.
A perusal of 15 other Florida papers showed all but two put the tax story out front and most made it the lead. Only one, The Tampa Tribune, had a front-pager about the video game. It also made Halo 3 its centerpiece, adjacent to the tax story.
One reason newspapers are struggling is that they have failed to connect with the broad interests of readers, especially younger ones. The Times-Union seeks to change that as editors choose stories for the front, said Editor Pat Yack.
“We ask what’s important for readers to know about today? What are they buzzing about? What might be an interesting read?”
Selecting stories is more challenging since the onslaught of the Internet and the growth of cable TV news.
“We live in what has been described as the ‘cycle of now.’ In light of this, we are constantly asking what makes for an interesting paper tomorrow?” Yack said. “The answer today would be different than 10 or even five years ago.”
The tax story is a classic “important” story, but some see it as a “turn-of-the-screw” development in the continuing struggle over state tax policy. Most readers aren’t going to read much of it, especially if they’ve heard about it on TV.
The quest to be more interesting leads to such content as the Sept. 13 centerpiece about Ramadan – and a few strong reactions.
That package included a photo of Muslims praying at a local mosque and interviews with four local Muslims on the eve of the holy month during which they fast during the day.
“I am amazed that you chose two days after the 9/11 anniversary to have a front-page pictorial on the followers of Islam,” said Crystal Johnson. “This is reprehensible, because this group has done nothing but try to harm the United States.”
Several readers said the story belonged on the religion pages or elsewhere inside the paper, but Yack noted that stories about religion are routinely placed on the front. One of the paper’s roles is to help increase understanding within the community and giving such stories front-page visibility helps accomplish that, he said.
“I do not agree with the notion that stories about Muslims be relegated to the back pages of the newspaper just because they are Muslims,” Yack said. “In fact, a good case could be made to put such stories on the front simply to point out that all Muslims are not extremists.”
Another front-page topic that causes angst is the Jaguars: They get explosive treatment even when they lose. Last Monday’s front page was almost giddy after the Jaguars defeated the Denver Broncos in Colorado.
“Some of us care about more than the Jaguars,” said Walt Calloway, who is among those who think the NFL team’s exploits should be limited to the Sports section. The editor disagrees.
“The Jaguars are a major story in town, just as they are in every other NFL town,” Yack said. “Many, if not most papers with NFL franchises, put their teams on the front page on Monday.”
Indeed, a review of cities with NFL teams found the home team featured on most front pages, including Washington, Chicago, Buffalo, Baltimore, Tampa, Dallas, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The game didn’t make the front page in Boston, Detroit, Seattle, Cleveland, Miami – or Denver.
