[reblogging myself from 365 Days of Print]
Above the Fold
Re-imagi(ni)ng The Front Page Photo of the NY Times, 1.11.11
I couldn’t believe my eyes today when I looked at the NY Times. A larger than usual photo is above the fold. And it is a video grab. It is shooter Jared Loughner looking deranged. What do we learn from this photo? Nothing. Oh wait, they shaved his head. What is the news value? None.
The victims have gotten nice profiles, but their photographs have been small. We should see them when we see him. So I rearrange today’s party – pulling a excellent photo from page A24 and a screen grab from the multimedia piece on those that died.
But I can’t stop thinking about why would the NYT choose this photo for its prime spot.
I go the Newseum Front Page Collection for perspective.
No Arizona papers published this image on the front page.
I check the page with the NY Papers and my answer appears:
via 365daysofprint.com: 1.11.11 Lorie Novak.