TAKEAWAY: The printed newspaper front page has lost its time advantage, but smart editors still use that prime real estate to lure us with content that emphasizes opinion, analysis and news we can use.
Front page of USA Today, July 10, 2013 (courtesy of http://www.newseum.org)
Here is the tweet from passenger David Eun, who survived the recent Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco
We are seeing the slow evolution of the front page of printed newspapers, and nothing to do with design, but everything to do with the content that is placed there, not to mention that today news doesn’t break like it used to.
I like what I see, as in the July 10 edition of USA Today, where the lead piece across the top of the front page is a column by tech writer Edward C. Baig, with a headline that reads: 5 years in, we expect an app for that.
This is not simply because July 10, 2013 may have been a slow news day (which it obviously was), but because editors are realizing that the only way to surprise on Page One—in the days of the media quartet—may be with stories that involve analysis, commentary and useful information. Health and technology are subjects that rank high in reader preference.
It was that Page One tech column that got me interested and made me stay on that front page, since the “newsy” items on the Newsline column I already knew enough about, as I am sure did a majority of the readers:
Asiana pilots knew jet too low
Abducted women release video to say thanks
Let’s face it, newspapers and television have lost the time advantage, a fact we have seen most recently when David Eun, one of the passengers who walked away from the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, proceeded to tweet about his experience before this horrific accident was even reported by any official media channel.
If the front page of a printed newspaper is going to have appeal, it will have to be more than through its look and feel, as in the stories selected, and how the headlines are written.
The chance for a printed newspaper front page to seduce the readers is still very much present, but it is that story, or photo, or headline that will make the difference. It won’t be with a headline and story that echo what we already know.
Of related interest
If you don’t like the chaos of breaking news, you should probably stay off Twitter
http://paidcontent.org/2013/07/08/if-you-dont-like-the-chaos-of-breaking-news-you-should-probably-stay-off-twitter/
Summary:
As with so many other news events, there was plenty of speculation and misinformation flowing on Twitter about the crash of an airplane at San Francisco airport — but for better or worse, that is just the way the news works now.
WAN-IFRA The Tablet & App Summit, Berlin, Oct. 7-8
It’s the WAN IFRA The Tablet & App Summit in Berlin, Oct.7- 8 and I will be in charge of moderating this program that will bring together leading publishers, head of mobile and development and senior newspaper executives to discuss how to best offer mobile services and products within an increasing complexity in news consumption.
Among the speakers confirmed for this Summit:
Guy Crevier, La Presse+, Canada—
How to optimize the user experience and keep advertisers happy in the competitive digital ecosystem
Thomas Schultz-Homberg, Head of Electronic Media, FAZ -(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung); Çagri Türkkorur, Digital Media Director, Dogan Gazetecilik; Dr. Assaf Avrahami, CEO, Yedioth IT; Anna Matteo, Director of Digital Area for Gruppo24ORE
Jeff Moriarty, Boston Globe (US) and Garrett Goodman, Worldcrunch
How to extend your newspapers´experience: Adaptive vs responsive design Q&A session
Audra Martin, Vice President, Advertising and Operations, Economist Digital
How to win & keep advertisers in the digital environment
Fred Hurkmans, Director Commercial & Marketing, Le Soir (Belgium)
Neil Johnson, Managing Director A&N Media, Mobile and TV, UK
Notes to consider when launching a new product: Daily Mail+, the DMG latest product
Note: Some of the speakers above still to be confirmed
For more information and to register for the Summit, go here:
https://www.wan-ifra.org/registration/world-publishing-expo-2013-registration?nid=78081