Today’s front pages mostly about… nothing.
Sifting through the nation’s front pages today at the Newseum was a lot like watching an episode of Seinfeld.
A lot of papers led their page with… nothing.
On the Daily of Decatur, Ala., circulation 20,800, the lede art today was of an empty parking lot:
The Enterprise of High Point, N.C., circulation 28,800, led with a stake by the side of a mostly-empty street:
The Dispatch of Columbus, Ohio, led with an empty Jeep in a lot full of “clunker” trade-in cars:
Just up the road a bit in Wooster, Ohio, though, the Daily Record — circulation 23,500 — covered that same story with a much more interesting photo:
Yeah, that’s a set-up shot. In fact, the van was placed in the dumpster by a local auto dealer looking for publicity. And he got it. That’s him, in the green shirt:
Credit Daily Record staffer Paul Locher for the picture.
Sometimes, y’know, publicity stunts work for the companies that pull them and make for newspaper page talkers. And this was certainly one today in Wooster. We’ll show you another one in a few minutes, pulled not by a company but by a lovestruck young man in New England.
Back to nothing, though…
The Tampa Tribune’s Hernando Today of Brooksville, Fla., led today with clouds and a couple of distant trees:
RedEye of Chicago one-upped them with hardly any clouds and the tip of an airplane wing:
The News-Press of St. Joseph, Mo., featured this interesting shot of “cherry-pickers” with no cherries to pick:
We call ‘em “cherry pickers,” but in fact, they’re Snorkel brand “aerial lift platforms.” The Snorkel company has laid off 70, due to low demand in construction and maintenance equipment.
That’s a hell of a photo, actually. May we get a closer look? (Click for a larger view)
That’s by News-Press staffer Jessica Stewart. The paper has a circulation of about 36,800.
The Morning News of Savannah, Ga., led today’s front with a mostly-empty loading dock:
The Times-Dispatch of Richmond led with prison arms and hands but no prisoners:
The Roanoke (Va.) Times led with a swing set but no swingers:
And the News & Messenger of Woodbridge, Va., circulation 12,000, led with a soccer ball but no one to kick it:
The Press of Asbury Park, N.J., led with staff art of two folks tossing around a beach ball on a warm summer day:
What’s missing is a beach. The picture was taken in Manhattan.
The Las Vegas Sun led with a photo of a casino bar, but no gamblers or drinkers:
The Herald Journal of Logan, Utah, circulation 16,000, led with a photo of a dock on a gorgeous lake, but only one fisherman — so far away that the photo appeared empty:
For the Daily Record of Roswell, N.M., circulation 11,600, the lede art of the day was a chicken. Fresh from taking a bath. Seriously:
And the front page of the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune, circulation 30,600, was graced with pigs. Pigs racing:
The Daily News of Lufkin, Texas, circulation 12,500, found a great way to say “Hay!” to its readers…
…as did the Free Press of Burlington, Vt.:
It’s difficult to see that picture at only 400 pixels wide. Click on the one below for a much bigger look:
That’s a marriage proposal, spray-painted on plastic-wrapped bales of hay in a field in Underhill, Vt., Tuesday.
The hopeful guy, William Butler even left little boxes — Check one, please; Yes or No. And a smiley face at the end.
You’ll be glad to know his sweetie, Natalie Coughlin, obliged him with a “Yes”…
…before heading off to a happy future together. Just the two of them and a can of spray-paint:
It’s a wonderful set of photos by the Free Press‘ Glenn Russell. Find the entire gallery here.
And finally, we’ll leave you today with a great video take on that old idea: Is it hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk?
Well, screw eggs. Lets’ cook cookies on the dashboard of your car instead, courtesy of Chris Spitzer of the Portland Oregonian:
| Dashboard Cookies: Baking treats in your vehicle |
July 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I am making dashboard cookies all the way.
July 29th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Hi Charles,
Just wanted to say that I have to disagree about the Las Vegas Sun page today being about “nothing.”
True, there wasn’t much going on in that photo. But the story certainly wasn’t about “nothing.” In fact, what’s happening at that club (Prive, one of the city’s ultra chic, ultra pricey nightclubs and as far from a “casino bar” as Nevada is from Virginia) is one of the biggest stories happening here right now — the gaming commission holding casino owners responsible for what happens in those leased out clubs.
Since the club is closed we couldn’t get a new photo (not that the would have let us in anyway), so I thought designer Rachel Perkins and illustrator Chris Morris came up with a nice package given what they had to work with. The headline works well with the photo in a piece that took a step back to explain what transpired in Prive being shut down and Planet Hollywood being fined $750,000.
It’s really a pretty good story about an industry that directly impacts thousands of employees, hundreds of thousands of clubgoers and hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Folks should give it a read:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/29/party-over-prive/
Thanks, Bill
July 29th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Please allow me to clarify — my observation that a lot of today’s front pages had no people in the lede art (or people so far away to be virtually invisible, etc.) was just that: An observation.
Hopefully, an AMUSING observation.
It wasn’t intended as criticism or disapproval of any of the fronts I showed today. I hoped this would be apparent from the tone of my post today or from the compliments and links I scattered throughout the post. But perhaps not.
My apologies for not making it more clear.
When I disapprove of something, I think I usually make it pretty clear. I try to be as gentle as possible, but I try to make it clear what, specifically, I didn’t like and I try to offer a suggestion or two as to how to perhaps make it better.
Anyway, my bad, today. And my apologies.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
MMM. Cookies. Nice video short! I am going to use this in my next video class.
Robb