Charles Apple

Note: This is one of two posts I was trying to write Tuesday when our servers came crashing down around our ankles. Rather than let it go, I’m posting it a day late.
—

Perhaps you noticed the Elena Kagan A1 art used Tuesday by three of the nation’s largest and most notable dailies.

Each of the three shows a completely different angle; gives a completely different look at the confirmation spectacle currently going on in D.C.

Click any of these for a larger view:

On the left is the Los Angeles Times with a shot by Pablo Martinez Monsivais that showed the lone nominee facing down the big, bad senators:

Average daily circulation for the LAT is 616,606.

Next up is this shot by staffer Luke Sharrett of the New York Times, brilliantly giving us an angle we just don’t see that often — let’s call it a Kagan’s-eye view:

Average daily circulation of the NYT is 951,063.

And finally, there’s this picture by Melina Mara of the Washington Post, who gave us a candid Kagan moment between the darts and laurels:

Average daily circulation of the Post is 578,482.

Three big papers, three different angles. All of them brilliant.

Kris Visselman — who started her new job April 26 as managing editor and creative director of the San Diego Union-Tribune — announced today two high-profile visual hires. Both, like Kris, are alumni of the Orange County Register. As is Union-Tribune editor Jeff Light.

Kris tweeted today:

Thrilled that Larry Nista and Peter Nguyen will be joining our team in San Diego!

Larry Nista will be A-section and InDepth editor. Peter Nguyen will be Features Design Director.

And the fun’s not over yet, Kris says. She also tweets:

Will be hiring 3 more graphics reporters/artists for our team in San Diego. Please [contact] me if interested.

—
LARRY NISTA

Larry is currently graphics director of the Washington Post.

A 1989 graduate of Cal State Fullerton, Larry spent eight years as a sports designer for the Orange County Register before moving to the graphics side in 2002. He moved to the Post in 2005.

Washington Post design director Dennis Brack announced to his staff shortly ago:

After five stellar years of leading our graphics team to new heights, Larry Nista is returning to Southern California. He will become the Page One and A-section editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune, one of the most senior leadership roles in that newsroom.

In addition to the unique professional opportunity, the move is wonderful for Larry, his wife, Zaheera, and their family. Zaheera’s parents live in SoCal, so their young daughter Leila will be able to grow up close to her doting grandparents.

Larry is one of the premier visual storytellers in the world. Since coming to The Post newsroom the day of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in 2005, Larry has had a transformative impact on how our group tells stories across platforms.

Larry has been a terrific partner to colleagues in the Presentation team and a trusted friend to many in the newsroom during times of both great opportunities and challenges.

Larry’s last day will be Friday, June 25. Stay tuned for news about goodbye celebrations and libations.

A couple of samples of his work:

—
PETER NGUYEN

Peter is a free-lance designer and writer in Long Beach, Calif. A 1994 graduate of UCLA, Peter spent five years as an illustrator and features design director for the Orange County Register and then another five as an art director for the OCR’s owner, Freedom Communications. He went free-lance full-time in 2007.

A few samples of his work:

Find more here, at his personal web site.

A few things that might be of interest, spotted during my daily sweep through the Newseum…

—
HOPE vs. DISPAIR

President Barack Obama delivered the commencement speech at a high school in Kalamazoo, Mich., Monday. The Kalamazoo Gazette — circulation 49,127 — commemorated the visit with a special edition that apparently wrapped around today’s paper and featured a poster front:

Nicely done. And what a keepsake this will be for the young lady in the picture. This page will probably be framed and on the wall of her parent’s home before this weekend.

Go here to read more about the president’s trip to Kalamazoo.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away on the Gulf Coast, folks might not be giving up all hope, but they are sinking into despair. And A.M. New York places the blame squarely with the president via a clever A1 cover illustration:

Average daily circulation for A.M. New York is 266,852.

—
FIREBALL vs. CINDERS

I’ve written quite a bit, over the years, about disconnects between headlines and visuals. It’s very important that the tone and content of your A1 text matches your lead art. If they don’t you’re sending mixed signals to your readers. Either pick a different photo or change the headline. Whatever. Just make sure you’re sending a coherent message.

There was a giant gas explosion yesterday in Texas. One utility worker was killed and seven were injured. Headlines on the front of today’s Star-Telegram of Fort Worth mention a “fireball” and say “flames hoot hundreds of feet high.”

Yet, look at the lead photo:

Sure, the flames are in the secondary shot. But that’s not quite good enough, given that huge “fireball.” The Star-Telegram — circulation 167,364 — might have been better off making that secondary art its lead today. Either that or change the headline.

Notice that neither of these papers had the same problem:

On the left is the Dallas Morning News, circulation 260,659, using art by staffer Courtney Perry. On the right — using that same DMN photo — is the Express-News of San Antonio, circulation 152,156.

Now, I realize the Star-Telegram is loathe to use a Morning News photo. But was there no other source of fireball pictures last night? If not, then the presentation editors might have been wise to go with lead art from its competitor.

Because, y’know, a story about a huge fireball is no good at all without a picture of the huge fireball.

—
HELEN THOMAS vs. REAL JOURNALISM

Hey, don’t get me wrong. I understand what an institution Hearst columnist Helen Thomas was in Washington.

But, y’know, she ceased to be a real journalistic force decades ago. Remember that cute video made by the Clinton administration in the summer of 2000, suggesting that Bill was hanging around the White House, bored with nothing to do? There was a scene in which Bill holds a press conference but only Helen Thomas shows up. And she falls asleep.

She abruptly wakes, looks at President Clinton and asks: “Are you still here?”

When I saw the video, I thought: Same back atcha, lady. And that was ten years ago!

Since then, she’s progressively declined as a professional journalist. Many of the stories floating around this week describe her as an “embarrassment” to the White House press corps. I’d agree with that. And besides: When’s the last time you actually read her column? So I wasn’t sorry to see her resign under fire.

But ask any young person under the age of 30, even those who commute into D.C. to work. How many of them will even know who Helen Thomas is?

That’s why I was mildly surprised to find her this morning on the cover of the Washington Post’s free youth + commuter tabloid, Express:

Frankly, that seemed like a more appropriate topic for the Washington Post proper. I have to admit, though, I like the visual composition of the illustration.

Illustration? Yes, this lead art is an “Express illustration” made from a photo by Brendan Smialowski of AFP/Getty, the credit line tells us.

I’d imagine Thomas is sitting in her usual seat on the front row of the White House press room and behind her are several rows of seats. I’d imagine the designer replaced the background with a neutral carpet-looking texture so a) our attention would be drawn to the subject of the picture, and b) we’d be able to read the headline.

Unless this was a documentary news photo shot on cycle — and it doesn’t appear to be — I’ve got no problem with this.

I did laugh, though, when I realized what Thomas was reading. Just in case you can’t see it, here is a snipped of the photo, lightened just a tad:

Helen Thomas — an “embarrassment” to the White House press corps and now universally criticized for her recent anti-Semitic comments — is reading the respectable New York Times. As opposed, I guess, to the Gadfly Journal or the Daily Wingnut.

I can only wonder what she’s thinking: Why aren’t these guys runnin my columns?

My theory: She was reading the Wall Street Journal, but the promotion guys at the Journal paid Express to photoshop out their paper and replace it with the Times.

That’s a complete falsehood, of course. Feel free to pass it along anyway.