ÿþ<html> <head> <title>Freedom Forum  2008 Today's Front Pages archive</title> </head> <body> <a name="top"></a> <img src="year_top.gif" usemap="#map2" border=0><br> <img src="calendar_08.gif" usemap="#map1" width="630" height="500" border=0> <MAP NAME="map1"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="265, 462, 278, 472" HREF="#103108"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="248, 462, 261, 472" HREF="#103008"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="231, 462, 244, 472" HREF="#102908"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="214, 462, 227, 472" HREF="#102808"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="197, 462, 210, 472" HREF="#102708"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="265, 448, 278, 458" HREF="#102408"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="248, 448, 261, 458" HREF="#102308"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="231, 448, 244, 458" HREF="#102208"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="214, 448, 227, 458" HREF="#102108"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="197, 448, 210, 458" HREF="#102008"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="265, 433, 278, 443" HREF="#101708"> <AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="248, 433, 261, 443" 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name="#103108"></a> <b>October 31, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A future for front page? It s all in the magic</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Each day, streams of people pause along Pennsylvania Avenue to gaze at newspaper front pages displayed outside the Newseum. <P>They read. They laugh; they frown. They nod in agreement; they shake their heads in disbelief. They share; they connect. <P>But mostly, they linger. <P>Circulation is declining, and free content on the Internet is booming. But yet, few things can be as personal as a newspaper front page.  Where s <CITE>my page</CITE>? we re often asked. <P>Sometimes the front page is predictable. Often it s overly gloomy. And in too many cases, it s inconsistent. <P>But every day it has an opportunity to touch people by: <P><B>Sharing what people are talking about:</B>  They never thought they d see the day, the <CITE>Detroit Free Press</CITE> said today about African-Americans feelings about Barack Obama s run for the White House. And the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> looks at  One more role for the cellphone: matchmaker. <P><B>Seeing the big picture:</B> With its state in an economic crisis and its governor in a scandal, the <CITE>Las Vegas Sun</CITE> examined the state of the state:  Nevada Turns 144, But What s To Celebrate? <B>But not forgetting important details:</B> The <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> pursued police documents that showed  Missed opportunities hours before slaying of the editor of the <CITE>Oakland Post</CITE>. <P><B>Looking beyond the headlines:</B> In a different kind of election story, <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> reported on  A risky conversation. Said the <CITE>Post</CITE>:  Politics naturally divides people, but this election cycle has highlighted the divide. Now, simply talking about the presidential candidates seems like a wedge issue. <P><B>Providing news that readers can t get anywhere else:</B> <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> of Wilmington, Del., noted that late Wednesday night its city matched its record for the number of homicides in a year. <B>And owning what they know:</B>  Shuttle set for Nov. 14 liftoff, said <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> in Melbourne, which swamps the space beat. <P><B>Writing good headlines:</B>  We Shopped Till We Dropped, the <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis said in summarizing GDP data.  Plumb Job, said the <CITE>New York Post</CITE> with a photo of Joe the Plumber on the campaign trail. And in writing a label headline that actually works, the <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> described the path of a high school football team:  From Cream Puff to Cinderella. <P><B>Presenting good stories and images:</B> In an eye-catching  To Catch a Cyber-Thief presentation, the <CITE>Kitsap Sun</CITE> in Bremerton, Wash., said:  A Bainbridge Island couple recovered a stolen $2,700 bicycle through sting tactics  online and with police. <P><B>Taking a different look:</B> Halloween stories are everywhere today, but <CITE>The Post-Crescent</CITE> of Appleton, Wis., breathed new life into a stale story with Rob Kaiser s <A class=chan href="http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20081031/APC0101/810310551&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG> Houdini works his magic column</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> about  Legendary artist offers lesson on escaping troubles. Harry Houdini, who lived in Appleton, died on Halloween 1926. <P>What will the future hold for the front page? Will it escape its troubles? To editors, I d say: Don t stop thinking about tomorrow, but don t stop thinking about print. <P>Make me laugh. Make me cry. Move me to share my opinion. Move me to take action. Make me want to pick up tomorrow s front page. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#103008"></a> <b>October 30, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>World champs, not worldwide coverage</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Bridget Gutierrez</P> <P>Newspaper editors in the mid-Atlantic region had a field day with their front pages after the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, last night to win baseball s World Series. <P>Devoting its cover to a staff photograph of the closing pitcher and catcher in an exuberant bear hug, the <CITE>Philadelphia Daily News</CITE> exclaimed:  FROM CURSED TO FIRST & SEND IN THE CROWN! <P><CITE>The Morning Call</CITE> in Allentown, Pa., and the <CITE>Burlington County Times</CITE> in Willingboro, N.J., dedicated the entire page to the event. The layout was different, the headline the same:  Phinally! (Props to <CITE>The Morning Call</CITE> for using the team s signature script.) <P> WORLD CHAMPS! declared <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE>, which gave the top two-thirds of Page One to the victory and one spectacular photograph capturing pitcher Brad Lidge s and catcher Carlos Ruiz s joy at winning. The subhead:  28 years later, Phillies again are baseball s best. <P>Nearby, the <CITE>Courier-Post</CITE> in Cherry Hill, N.J., announced:  WE DID IT!  saving the particulars for six pages of game coverage inside. <P><CITE>The Press</CITE> in Atlantic City, N.J., <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., and <CITE>The Times-Tribune</CITE> in Scranton, Pa., made the news their daily centerpiece. <CITE>The Press</CITE> incorporated a story and photo of celebrating fans, who apparently braved the cold and riots  yikes!  outside the ballpark. <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> smartly included a celebratory photograph from the Phillies last World Series win in 1980. It s been a long time, boys. <P>Of course, there s another side to the story. Interestingly, <CITE>The Tampa</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> and competitor <CITE>St. Petersburg Times</CITE> provided similar coverage of their team s loss by pairing a single front-page photograph and sports column. <P> MAGIC ENDS, reads the <CITE>Times</CITE> headline about the amazing worst-to-first team.  Rays miracle season is now just great memories. Not to mention a few front pages. <P><EM>Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102908"></a> <b>October 29, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Reporting on the Dow: Does<BR>what goes up must come down?</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Is the glass half full or half empty? <P>Newspaper front pages couldn t decide today as they reported on a rally that added 889 points to the Dow. <P> Optimism sends stock soaring, the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> said across its front page.  Dow takes stunning jump  2nd-best ever, <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> said. <P><CITE>The News &amp; Observer</CITE> of Raleigh, N.C., charted the upturn inside its nameplate. <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> explained how it happened:  Bargain hunters pounce amid signs of credit thaw. <P>Like many, the <CITE>Orlando</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Sentinel</CITE> charted the stock market s gain. But it said:  Dow soars  but hold applause. Explained <CITE>The Gazette</CITE> of Colorado Spring, Colo.:  Soaring Dow is Simply Another Day of Volatility. <P>Indeed, <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> of Wilmington, Del., said,  Rocketing Dow fails to spread much joy.  Wall Street on edge despite Dow s surge, <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE> noted. <P><CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE> charted  Mixed Signals  the Dow rebound and a decline in consumer confidence. <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> gave the stock market an up arrow but used a down arrow to describe consumers mood. <P>The <CITE>Lincoln</CITE> (Neb.) <CITE>Journal Star</CITE> was one newspaper that was both optimistic and pessimistic:  Stocks surge 889 points, the lead headline said.  But analysts don t expect rally to last in this volatile market. <P>In advance of today s expected cut in the interest rate by the Fed, <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> said:  Cut in rate to take aim at pessimism. <P><B>Today s campaign news:</B> The <CITE>Lexington</CITE> (Ky.) <CITE>Herald-Leader</CITE> described a  A whinnying ticket. Horse owners through the thoroughbred registry, it reports, are reserving such names as  Joe the Plumber and  First Dude. <P>Speaking of Joe, he s on the campaign trail, reports <CITE>The Cincinnati Enquirer</CITE>, which printed a photo of Joe Wurzelbacher stumping for the McCain-Palin ticket in southwest Ohio. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102808"></a> <b>October 28, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Some dailies play up Stevens <BR>conviction; others put story inside</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>It took a federal jury to do it but the newspaper of record  <CITE>The New York Times</CITE>  and the major daily in the nation s capital  <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE>  agree that the conviction of Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska tops the economy and the election as THE story of the day. <P> Stevens found guilty on 7 counts, reports the <CITE>Post</CITE>, and  Senator is guilty over his failures to disclose gifts, reports the <CITE>Times</CITE> in their lead stories this morning. The smaller capital daily, <CITE>The Washington Times</CITE>, banners  Stevens guilty on all 7 counts. <P>In Alaska, the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> has a two-line banner head reading  Stevens guilty on all counts:  It s not over yet, he says. <P>For the rest of the nation s dailies, there was varied coverage of the verdict in the trial of the Senate s longest-serving Republican. Stevens is the fifth U.S. senator ever convicted of a crime, and his name is on next Tuesday s ballot. <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE> leads with a one-column headline  Alaska s Stevens is found guilty, while <CITE>The Courier-Journal</CITE> in Louisville, Ky., <CITE>West Hawaii Today</CITE> in Kailua Kona, and <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., all felt the story worth top-of-Page-One play. Then the story fades away from some Page One stories to teases to nothing. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> has an above-the-fold picture and story that  Corruption conviction doesn t daunt Stevens, the <CITE>Casper</CITE> (Wyo.) <CITE>Star-Tribune</CITE> has the story at the bottom of the page, as do the <CITE>Deseret News</CITE> in Salt Lake City, the <CITE>Las Vegas Review-Journal</CITE>, the <CITE>Gazette-Times</CITE> in Corvallis, Ore., the <CITE>Great Falls</CITE> (Mont.) <CITE>Tribune</CITE>, <CITE>The Lewiston</CITE> (Idaho) <CITE>Tribune</CITE>, <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE>, <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> and <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE>. <P>Then there were dailies that teased an inside story about Stevens, starting with our friends at <CITE>The Monitor</CITE> in McAllen, Texas, with photo and tease next to the masthead, as high up as possible without going off Page One. <CITE>The Commercial Appeal</CITE> in Memphis, Tenn., runs a tease and photo at the bottom of the page, <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> does it at the top of column one, <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> in Cleveland and the <CITE>Omaha</CITE> (Neb.) <CITE>World-Herald</CITE> do it in the middle of that column, while <CITE>The News &amp; Observer</CITE> in Raleigh, N.C., teases at the top of the page next to the lead story. <P>The longest list would be of the U.S. dailies carrying nothing about Stevens on Page One. At least we didn t see any maps showing where to find Alaska. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102708"></a> <b>October 27, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Middle East squeezed off Page One<BR>by politics, economic mess, sports</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Have you noticed that the upcoming election, the world economic situation and the World Series and other sporting activities have pretty much squeezed U.S. involvement in the Middle East off Page One? Three Middle East stories broke during the weekend that may have missed the front page of your local newspaper. <P> U.S. launches rare attack inside Syria is the headline on the lead story of <CITE>The Charleston Gazette</CITE> in West Virginia,  US special forces hit Syria is squared off at the top of <CITE>American Press</CITE> in Lake Charles, La., and  U.S. raid kills eight in Syrian territory, <CITE>Cape Cod Times</CITE> in Hyannis, Mass., tells its readers. <CITE>The Daily Gazette</CITE> in Schenectady, N.Y., combines the headlines of the first two dailies with  U.S. kills eight in rare attack inside Syria, while the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> suggests that  U.S. raid in Syria raises tensions. <P>The story is at the bottom of Page One of the <CITE>Rochester</CITE> (N.Y.) <CITE>Democrat and Chronicle</CITE>, <CITE>The Cincinnati</CITE> (Ohio) <CITE>Enquirer</CITE> and <CITE>The Herald Journal</CITE> in Logan, Utah. It leads <CITE>The Birmingham News</CITE> in Alabama and is the tease for  Today s Quick Read in the <CITE>Greensboro</CITE> (N.C.) <CITE>News &amp; Record</CITE> and is teased in the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE>. <P>Then there is the U.S. threat to Iraq to make a deal or, as <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> in Newark, N.J., puts it in the lead story  U.S. vows to cut off Iraq if no new deal. The <CITE>Idaho Statesman</CITE> in Boise squares off  U.S, gives  shocking threat to Iraq, the <CITE>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</CITE> gives similar play to the story with  U.S. warns Iraq on deal and <CITE>The Columbian</CITE> in Vancouver, Wash., reports,  U.S. threatens Iraq with withdrawal. <P>Finally, the third story. The biggest daily in this country  <CITE>USA Today</CITE>  leads with unhappy news for the troops abroad and their families   Extended war tours likely to continue through 2009 in spite of pledges made earlier. The story was picked up here and there. Indeed, out in Iowa, the <CITE>Iowa City Press-Citizen</CITE> plays up the story with the same headline noted for <CITE>USA Today</CITE>. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102408"></a> <b>October 24, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Former Fed chairman takes<BR>his lumps on front pages</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>A close-up picture of a dour-looking Alan Greenspan sporting a severe hangdog expression is the lead photo on many of today's front pages this morning. <P>And you wonder why people aren't buying newspapers. <P>The former Federal Reserve chairman appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill yesterday and was at the receiving end of criticism from some members of Congress who blamed his economic policies for the financial mess we are in today. <P>"Alan Greenspan  Called on the Carpet," is the headline in the <CITE>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</CITE> featuring not one, not two, but thee closeups of Greenspan, looking more and more miserable as the photos progress. <P><CITE>The Dallas Morning News</CITE> went one way with its assessment: "'I made a mistake,' Greenspan admits," while <CITE>The Columbian</CITE> in Vancouver, Wash., opted for a different interpretation: "Greenspan: Don't blame me for mess." <P><CITE>The Lima</CITE> (Ohio) <CITE>News</CITE>, which goes with a photo that can only be described as an extreme close-up, sums it up in more neutral terms. "Flaw in the model," the headline says in reference to Greenspan's admission that mistakes were made during his 18 years of service. <P>Meanwhile, some papers are looking at presidential polls in their states. Barack Obama may have the lead in many places, including key battleground states, but don't tell that to the folks in Kentucky or Arkansas. "McCain's lead in state is safe," blares the <CITE>Lexington Herald-Leader</CITE>. <CITE>The Morning News</CITE> in Fayetteville, Ark., also shows John McCain leading Obama in a story under the headline "Poll Gives State Pulse." <P>But it's too close to call in Montana according to the <CITE>Great Falls Tribune</CITE>, which asks "Montana: Red or Blue?" <P>In Connecticut, the <CITE>New Haven Register</CITE> cautions against poll-watching under the banner headline "Polls Apart" with an AP story looking at dueling results of recent major polls. <P><EM>John Maynard is a Newseum exhibits writer.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102308"></a> <b>October 23, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>There s Page One news besides<BR>the economy and the election</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>They did it again. They being the stock markets; again being yesterday s precipitous drop. We decided to look for non-economic and non-election stories this morning, stories such as  1st snowfall brings 6 inches to The County that tops Page One for the <CITE>Bangor Daily News</CITE> up in Maine, our friends at <CITE>The Monitor</CITE> in McAllen, Texas, playing up the fifth anniversary of the Dodge Arena with a story, photos and numbers, even as <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE> in Florida whoops up  The World s Stage and the World Series game at Tropicana Field. <P><CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> tells its readers that  Traffic better, but still worst in nation, while <CITE>The Times</CITE> in Munster, Ind., reports that a voter-registration drive (there s the election story) is one of the  Worst in the nation and the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> dug out its second-coming type for the number 13%, adding that  The governor s approval rating among Illinois voters is even lower than Bush s. The <CITE>Duluth News Tribune</CITE> in Minnesota uses much of Page One to report about  Our bridge to nowhere, with a story noting the county  spent $48,000 to restore a bridge, then placed it over a storm water pond. The <CITE>Herald Times Reporter</CITE> in Manitowoc, Wis., reports on  WWII through one man s eyes, thereby localizing the last good war, while <CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune</CITE> does the same about the suicide bomber who killed more than 200 in  Beirut blast still resounds and the <CITE>Leader-Telegram</CITE> in Eau Claire, Wis., reports about a local National Guard unit  Reporting for duty. The <CITE>Idaho Statesman</CITE> in Boise plays up the  Results of the Idaho Outdoors/Idaho Camera photo contest, complete with a pleasant picture on Page One, while <CITE>The Dominion Post</CITE> in Morgantown, W.Va., reports with story and photos about  Mom makes human a shield at bus stop because  some folks aren t stopping when school buses flash their red lights. <P>We ll mention only one first page about the economy. It s the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> reporting  You ll laugh, you ll cry, reporting the good news about gas prices dropping and the bad news about  Financial markets predicting the worst of all worlds. That leads us to our first prize for today s Page One. India has just sent a rocket to the moon. The banner headline in <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Calcutta says it all:  TO MOON: Right now, it looks a better place than our Earth. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102208"></a> <b>October 22, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>More than election news<BR>in your local newspaper</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Watch television and the upcoming election seems to be the big story that we all care about. Not so. Indeed, we started the day skipping through the European dailies, but we found precious little U.S. election coverage. <CITE>Jurnal de Caras-Severin</CITE> in colorful Resita, Romania, has a small picture of John McCain, but it s only to tease a story on Page 2. Our friends at <CITE>SME</CITE> in Bratislava, Slovakia, have a large Page One photo of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But that s about it for Europe, so we turned to U.S. coverage. <P><CITE>The Anniston Star</CITE> in Alabama plays up  Area gas prices finally return to lower levels, and the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> in Alaska squares off at the top of Page One the trial of the senior U.S. senator, wondering  Which Stevens will jury judge? The <CITE>Arizona Daily Star</CITE> in Tucson grumbles that  we re all paying more in taxes, while <CITE>The Sentinel-Record</CITE> in Hot Springs, Ark., gives major play, with photo, to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra playing for students. <CITE>The Sun</CITE> in San Bernardino, Calif., leads with plans for a new 12-story court building, the <CITE>Connecticut Post</CITE> in Bridgeport whoops up the tried-and-true picture of  Elephants on parade and the circus coming to town, and <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> in Melbourne puts possible re-starting of the Hubble telescope in space at the top of the page and the birth of twin jaguars at the bottom. The <CITE>South Bend Tribune</CITE> in Indiana uses the top of its Page One to ask whether  Consumers addicted to plastic?  credit cards, that is. <P>The <CITE>Iowa City</CITE> (Iowa) <CITE>Press-Citizen</CITE> has a colorful  Colors of fall Page One reporting on leaf-turning time, <CITE>The Kentucky Enquirer</CITE> in Fort Mitchell warns that  Some firms refusing to hire smokers, the <CITE>Times Herald</CITE> in Port Huron, Mich., confirms to its readers what they probably know, that  Roads make  worst list, and the <CITE>Times Herald-Record</CITE> in Middletown, N.Y., uses most of Page One for a picture and a story about  SUV stolen, abandoned with 3-year-old inside. <P>Finally, two dailies play up local library censorship problems. The <CITE>Gazette-Times</CITE> in Corvallis, Ore., tells its readers that  Library items raise eyebrows, warning that  Not even Muppets safe from patron complaints, while the <CITE>Independent Record</CITE> in Helena, Mont., reports  Library board votes to keep controversial book on hand, and the book is <CITE>The Joy of Gay Sex</CITE>. <P>If you re looking for an escape from all the election coverage, read your local newspaper. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Form media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102108"></a> <b>October 21, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Two weeks and counting:<BR>Crisscrossing contested states</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>With two weeks to go until the presidential election, pivotal states are getting additional attention from the campaigns. And the campaigning is drawing the attention of the front page. <P><B>Colorado:</B> Sarah Palin campaigned in the state Monday and labeled  Obama a socialist, the <CITE>Fort Collins Coloradoan</CITE> said. The <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE>, which is not endorsing a candidate for president, pictured the vice presidential candidate and said,  Fight to the finish. <P><B>Florida:</B> The <CITE>South Florida Sun Sentinel</CITE> of Fort Lauderdale mapped the travels of the candidates and their surrogates in the Sunshine State:  For now, they all just love Florida. Hillary Clinton appeared with Barack Obama, who called for   Jobs, Baby, Jobs,  said the <CITE>Orlando Sentinel</CITE>, which has endorsed Obama. <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE>, which endorsed John McCain, pictured Obama with members of the Tampa Bay Rays, who introduced him at a rally. <P><B>Missouri:</B>  Vote seekers blitz tossed-up state, said the <CITE>Springfield News-Leader</CITE>, which is endorsing state and local candidates but not a candidate in the presidential race. The <CITE>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</CITE> called it  Marching Across Missouri and noted that McCain was Monday s visitor. It has endorsed Obama. <P><B>Pennsylvania:</B>  McCain is pulling out all the stops in Pa., said <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE>, which has endorsed Obama. But the bigger focus in some places is the World Series-bound Phillies. <P>Meanwhile, <CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> reported that Obama is returning to Hawaii Thursday to visit his grandmother, who is ill. <P>Early voting got under way in many places.  First day totals for early voting reach new heights across area, said the <CITE>Austin</CITE> (Texas) <CITE>American-Statesman</CITE>, which has endorsed Obama.  Early voting center opens in Fargo/Auditor predicts more than 4,000 to use site during the next 2 weeks, said <CITE>The Forum</CITE>, which endorsed McCain. <P><CITE>The Virginian-Pilot</CITE> in Norfolk noted heightened emotions about the election and reported,  Some cities to tighten Election Day security. <P><B>Wasted in Wisconsin:</B> The <CITE>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</CITE> is examining alcohol use in the Badger State in a <A class=chan href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=152423" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>five-part series</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> that includes 72 profiles of victims of drunken driving. Today s package outlined the tab for one drunken driver s 10 offenses. The newspaper s <A class=chan href="http://www.jsonline.com/" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Web site</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> includes an interactive graphic and a chat about the state s drinking culture. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#102008"></a> <b>October 20, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Football, politics, baseball<BR>compete for headlines</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Hicks Wogan</P> <P>Whatever other news is breaking, on Mondays in the fall you can expect front pages across the country to tackle pro football. Yesterday the National Football League played 13 headline-grabbing games. <P>In St. Louis the Dallas Cowboys played without their starting quarterback, Tony Romo, and, man, did they look lost. The Rams battered them 34-14, and the <CITE>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</CITE> heralded the win with the headline,  Suddenly Potent Rams Stun Cowboys. <CITE>The Dallas Morning News</CITE> sang of  St. Louis Blues. <P>The Carolina Panthers shredded the New Orleans Saints, 30-7, and <CITE>The Charlotte</CITE> (N.C.) <CITE>Observer</CITE> boasts with a front-page banner that plays on a New Orleans nickname:  Big Easy Win. <P>In Chicago the hometown Bears outgunned the Minnesota Vikings, 48-41.  O is for Offense and this morning, on the cover of a 12-page  Bears Extra section, the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> exclaims,   O My! Da Bears intercepted Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte four times, and the <CITE>Duluth</CITE> (Minn.) <CITE>News Tribune</CITE> announces above its nameplate that  Vikings Crumble. <P> Chargers Short-Circuited in Buffalo, reads <CITE>The San Diego</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Union-Tribune</CITE> after the local team lost to the Bills. With the 23-14 win, Buffalo improved its record to 5-1. <P>The NFL s only undefeated team, the Tennessee Titans, rushed for a franchise-record 332 yards on Sunday and destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs, 48-10.  Mighty Titans stay perfect, notes <CITE>The Tennessean</CITE> of Nashville. The team moved to 6-0. <P>Oakland Raiders placekicker Sebastian Janikowski bombed a 57-yard field goal to beat the New York Jets in overtime. Across the Bay, the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> has a clever headline:  Raiders Give Jets the Boot. But not so sure-footed were the Cleveland Browns, who missed a late field goal to hand a 14-11 victory to the Washington Redskins. The  Skins were led by Clinton Portis s 175 yards rushing and improved their record to 5-2. It was their fifth win by seven or fewer points, and <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> duly calls it a  Close Encounter of the 5th Kind. <P>Washington is also home to NBC's long-running program "Meet the Press," where on Sunday morning former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Obama s biggest Republican endorsement to date paired with news of his biggest fundraising haul yet  $150 million in September. Fittingly, then, <CITE>The Washington Times</CITE> couples the two items with the headline  Obama Gains $150 million, Powell s nod. <P>But the election is far from over, said Republican nominee John McCain: "I love being the underdog." <P>So, it seemed for a while, did baseball s Boston Red Sox. They fell behind three games to one in their American League Championship Series with the Tampa Bay Rays and pushed the series to a Game 7 before losing last night, 3-1. The Nashua, N.H., <CITE>Telegraph</CITE> bemoaned that, for the Sox, the  Magic runs out, while in Florida reality trumps magic. <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE> proclaims:  It s For Real! <P>The Rays advance to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, which begins Wednesday. <P><EM>Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101708"></a> <b>October 17, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A few cracks in story<BR>of Joe the Plumber</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>While the economy remains <CITE>topic du jour</CITE> in the nation s newspapers, it s a bald plumber named Joe who s clogging up a lot of front-page space today. <P>Wall Street continues to perform like a wildly gyrating elevator with the Dow Jones shooting up over 400 points yesterday. A front page headline on <CITE>The Day</CITE> (New London, Conn.) reads positively frantic:  It s down. No, it s up again! No, it s down&  <P>Seniors got some good news yesterday with the announcement that Social Security checks are going up almost 6% next year and several papers take note.  Seniors secure a raise, blares <CITE>The Oklahoman</CITE> in Oklahoma City.  Social Security gets pay raise, reads the banner headline in <CITE>The Post-Crescent</CITE> (Appleton, Wis.). <P>But Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher is <CITE>the man</CITE> today. In Wednesday s presidential debate, John McCain said the plumber would be negatively affected by Barack Obama s tax plan. Obama disagreed and, from there, Joe s name was volleyed back and forth like a cheap rubber gasket. <P>His 15 minutes arrived. <P> Move over, Britney, writes the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> above a story about the plumber s new-found fame.  Much ado about Joe, declares <CITE>The Morning Call</CITE> (Allentown, Pa.). <P>Upon further review, though, it turns out that Joe doesn t have a plumbing license, owes back taxes to the state of Ohio and might not be hurt by Obama s tax plan after all. <P> Joe the Plumber? His tale has a few leaks, is how <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> put it.   Joe the plumber story springs a few leaks, counters the <CITE>Idaho Statesman</CITE> in Boise. <P>Some papers focused on their own  Local Joes. The <CITE>Ventura County</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Star</CITE> profiles plumber Joe Lara, who recalls how media from around the world contacted him Wednesday night mistakenly thinking he was the plumber referenced in the debate. <P>A <CITE>Providence Journal</CITE> story headlined  Just Ask Joe interviews plumbers in Rhode Island  named Joe  about their presidential picks. <P>Finally, this Red Sox fan would be remiss not to note the team s miraculous and historic comeback last night from a 7-0 deficit against the Tampa Bay Rays in game 5 of the American League playoffs.  Heartbreaker, writes the <CITE>St. Petersburg</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Times</CITE> about its team s 8-7 loss. <P>As any Red Sox fan can tell you, we know all about heartbreak. <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101608"></a> <b>October 16, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Not debatable: Gloves off, Dow down</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Patty Rhule</P> <P>There was little debate in newsrooms about the top news today: The final presidential debate and the stock market s second-worst plunge. <P>In GOP candidate John McCain s home state of Arizona, <CITE>The Dispatch</CITE> reported  Both take off the gloves with a sidebar called  Check their facts inside. (On the same page, a story about a debate among candidates for the state House said,  Politicians turn from kitty cats to pit bulls. No mention of lipstick, however.) <P> Final debate gets tough and personal, said the <CITE>North County Times</CITE> in Escondido, Calif., with a dramatic photo of the candidates and debate moderator Bob Schieffer. The lead story was  Yet another precipitous Dow plunge. <P> McCain doesn t seal the deal, said the <CITE>Los Angeles Times s</CITE> front-page analysis. <P> Verbal fisticuffs, said the Los Angeles <CITE>Daily News</CITE>, with a boxing theme that was echoed in other newspapers. <P><CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune</CITE> presented the debate facial expressions of Democratic candidate Barack Obama and McCain, with  As McCain presses, Obama parries in sharp exchanges. <P> Red October, said the <CITE>San Jose</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Mercury News</CITE>, with a simple yet elegant graphic reflecting the grim stock market month atop its debate package labeled,  Offense &  for McCain and  & Defense for Obama. <P>Many newspapers concluded it was Joe the Plumber, a man whose question to Obama about tax policy became a debate theme, who was the star of the debate.  Battle for Average Joe, said the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE>. <P>That would be Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, and Toledo s <CITE>Blade</CITE> had a story on his thoughts about the debate. <P><CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE> summed up Joe s significance:  Who is Joe the plumber? An Ohio man looking to buy a business became a symbol of the middle class. <P>The <CITE>Yakima Herald-Republic</CITE> in Washington took a cue from Eastern religious philosophy, tagging the final debate  The Tao of Joe. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:prhule@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Patty Rhule</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is a project editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101508"></a> <b>October 15, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Rays score a win, Californians<BR>lose homes, debate up for grabs</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Today s front pages declare some winners and losers. Let s take a look. <P><B><U>Winners</U></B> <P><B>Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party:</B>  Déjà vu: Tory minority, the <CITE>Toronto Star</CITE> declared after Harper was re-elected in Tuesday s federal election. Explained <CITE>The Globe and Mail</CITE> of Toronto:  Canadians give the Tories a stronger mandate to steer the country through stormy economic times  but they deny Harper total control. <P><B>Motorists:</B> Amid the economic gloom and doom, gas prices are a bright spot.  Gas at less than $3 per gallon stops Salem drivers in their tracks, said the <CITE>Statesman Journal</CITE> in Oregon. <P><B>Tampa Bay Rays:</B> The <CITE>St. Petersburg</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Times</CITE> called it  Phenomenal after the Rays beat the Red Sox, 13-4, and came within one win of advancing to the World Series. <P><B><U>Losers</U></B> <P><B>Southern Californians:</B> They have lost homes and businesses to wildfires in what the <CITE>Press-Telegram</CITE> of Long Beach called a nightmare.  34 square miles and counting, <CITE>The Bakersfield Californian</CITE> reported.  Three blazes have killed one, destroyed dozens of homes. <P><B>Boston Red Sox:</B> In a photo caption, <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> reported that the misery began in the first inning of last night s game against the Rays. The neighboring <CITE>Concord</CITE> (N.H.) <CITE>Monitor</CITE> was less polite about the Sox performance:  Uninspired. Lethargic. Pathetic. <P><B><U>Another tie?</U></B> <P>Will there be a winner in tonight s final presidential debate? The <CITE>Daily News</CITE> of New York used a caricature of John McCain and said,  Tonight s debate is do-or-die for McCain s campaign. <CITE>The State</CITE> of Columbia, S.C., asked:  Will there be smoke  or fire? Some are expecting last McCain-Obama debate to generate few details but lots of heat. One winner might be debate host Hofstra University.  All eyes on LI, said <CITE>Newsday</CITE> of Long Island. <P>Today s biggest winners might just be readers who were entertained by this morning s <CITE>Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland. The newspaper analyzed 2.7 million voter-registration records of Ohioans who declared a party affiliation before the spring primary. What did they find?  A name tells a lot about a person s political leanings. Barbie? She s  a left-leaning glam gal & while boy-toy Ken runs conservative. You can find out which way your name leans on <A class=chan href="http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG><CITE>The Plain Dealer s</CITE></A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> Web site. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101408"></a> <b>October 14, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>U.S. bolsters banks,<BR>giving bounce to the Dow</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>How quickly fortunes can change. <P>After a brutal week on Wall Street, the Dow was up 936 points on Monday, the largest point gain ever. That prompted relief from Wyoming ( Relief at last! said the <CITE>Tribune-Eagle</CITE> in Cheyenne.) to North Carolina ( A sigh of relief, <CITE>The Charlotte Observer</CITE> said.). <P>The <CITE>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</CITE> called it  A reversal of fortune, while the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> in Denver described it as a  U-turn on Wall St.  Stocks leap back from the edge, said <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> in Portland. <P>While some front pages focused solely on the Dow, the news behind the news was the move by the government to invest $250 billion in banks. The news was so significant that <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> and <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> each devoted two-line banner headlines to the news.  U.S. Forces Nine Major Banks To Accept Partial Nationalization, <CITE>The Post</CITE> said. In fewer words, <CITE>The Sacramento</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Bee</CITE> said:  U.S. tosses lifeline to banks. <P>Many headlines responded to cause and effect and tied the banking move and Dow surge.  Plans to stabilize banks delight Wall St., the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> said.  Bold move sends stocks soaring, the <CITE>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</CITE> said. <P>There was a hint of optimism in the air.  New plan lifts market, hopes, <CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> said. But the <CITE>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</CITE> asked the question we all have:  Stocks soar, but will it last? <P>The U.S. is following in the steps of Europe, which took action on its banks on Monday.  Nations act, markets soar, <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> said. Said <CITE>The Guardian</CITE> of London:  Day the markets breathed again. <P><B>Voting today:</B> The U.S. presidential campaign still has three weeks to go. But Canadians go to the polls today in a federal election. <CITE>The Hamilton Spectator</CITE> told its readers:  After 141 years and 39 parliaments, today you decide who will be the next prime minister of Canada. The <CITE>Toronto Star</CITE> pictured four candidates with the label  Why I deserve your vote. But noting economic challenges and internal rifts, <CITE>The Globe and Mail</CITE> of Toronto said,  Leaders face tough fight beyond finish. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101308"></a> <b>October 13, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Searching for relief from economic gloom</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Bridget Gutierrez</P> <P>Weary of news on the financial front? On today s front pages there s a little relief, with articles that take the mind away from that 401k. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> injects levity with  Satellite radio sweeps Stern off cultural radar, an update on shock-jock Howard Stern, who apparently is not shocking as many as he used to. <P>In  Bottled water company steamed about radio ad, <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> reports that the maker of Zephyrhills was none too pleased about a recent advertisement touting the virtues of Miami-Dade s (free) tap water.  It may have sounded innocuous to most listeners, Curtis Morgan writes,  but the 30-second spot left the nation s largest purveyor of bottled water boiling mad. You don t say. <P>From <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE>, there s this intriguing item:  Bid to canonize girl draws mixed reaction, in which readers learn of a movement to make a saint out of a dead Massachusetts girl who nearly drowned when she was 3. In other religious news, <CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE> asks:  Is the Pope s Newspaper Catholic? Stacey Meichtry reports that the Vatican s 147-year-old <CITE>L Osservatore Romano</CITE> is forgoing religious tracts for honest-to-goodness articles.  There was a really precise request from the paper s publisher, Editor-in-Chief Giovanni Maria Vian told Meichtry;  in this case, the publisher just happens to be the pope. <P>Internet domain names are changing, according to today s <CITE>Orlando Sentinel</CITE>.  The change is part of perhaps the biggest expansion ever to Internet addresses, with the makeover of so-called  top-level domains beginning perhaps as early as next year, Etan Horowitz reports.  But it won t come cheap ? getting a new domain will likely be at least $100,000. Yikes. <P>In the <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE>, a heartwarmer about a community rallying to give a young couple a $60,000 dream wedding takes up three-quarters of the page.  The flowers? Free. The cake? Gratis. The hotel suite? On the house, the subheadline reads.  After a year of recovering from injuries suffered in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Mercedes Golden is about to marry Jake Rudh. How nice. <P>Finally, when all other news fails to lift the gloom, look for the tried-but-true animal tale. Today s installment comes from <CITE>The Charlotte Observer</CITE>, where under  HE S JUST A BIG, HAIRY CINDERELLA the newspaper tells readers:  When Beau came to Polkton, he could hardly stand up. Now he s a handsome, lovable champion. <P>If a puppy dog doesn't take your mind off your money, nothing will. <P><EM>Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#101008"></a> <b>October 10, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Panic selling brings another<BR>emotional day on stock market</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>They look worried. <P>On Thursday&nbsp; for the seventh business day in a row  the stock market was down, down, down. With the Dow dragged below 9,000 for the first time in five years, front pages look worried.  Another losing day, said <CITE>The Courier-Journal</CITE> of Louisville, Ky. <P>In Casper, Wyo., Tacoma, Wash., and Fort Worth, Texas, the word  panic was on the front page. Red down arrows were printed the width of the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE>:  All signs pointing to panic. <P>Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the stock market s all-time high, and the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> charted the descent from  Peak to bleak.  What a difference a year makes, <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Nashua, N.H., said in a graphic.  And it just gets worse, <CITE>The Burlington</CITE> (Vt.) <CITE>Free Press</CITE> said. <P>GM was one stock that got pummeled.  Auto Fears Grow, <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> said, adding,  Market Drop Revives Talk of Bankruptcy. <P>Headlines had a sense of helplessness.  Running out of options, <CITE>The Record</CITE> of Hackensack, N.J., said, adding,  Finding a cure for financial crisis proves elusive. <P>The <CITE>San Antonio</CITE> (Texas) <CITE>Express-News</CITE> optimistically looked ahead in its coverage of options:  World gearing up to cool meltdown. <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> examined the economic toolbox available to the government:  Standard options have failed to shore up unstable markets. <P>Even as <CITE>The Sun</CITE> of Baltimore called it  Uneasy Street and others reported panic, <CITE>Newsday</CITE> on Long Island offered advice from experts:  Even Now, Don t Panic (Really). <P>Amid the gloom, <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> of Newark, N.J., began a series on happiness,  the most sought-after human emotion. Offered the newspaper:  How to get happy? Thinking positive is a good start. <P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">J</SPAN> <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100908"></a> <b>October 9, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>At the intersection of Wall Street<br>and Main Street, the financial crisis</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Hicks Wogan</P> <P>On the presidential campaign trail both major-party tickets have been using the global financial crisis to draw a distinction within America, a distinction between haves and have-nots, between wealthy  Wall Street and everyday  Main Street. <P>On both streets, however, the crisis is front-page news. <P><CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE> takes money matters seriously. Today it notes that the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe cut interest rates yesterday, trying to slow their market declines. <CITE>AM New York</CITE>, also in Manhattan, has a different focus. The paper profiles a number of  Stress Busters, ways in which  The wealthy indulge in guilty pleasures to deal with the Wall Street crisis. Photos on this front page suggest Wall Streeters are still spending money on desserts, spa treatments, credit-card shopping sprees and  seriously?  lap dances. <P>Back on the campaign trail, the vice-presidential nominees like to tout themselves as blue-collar Americans, as a son and a daughter of Main Street. Democrat Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pa., where today s <CITE>Times-Tribune</CITE> notes yesterday s Dow Jones drop of 189 points. Biden lives in Wilmington, Del., where the biggest headline on the front page of <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> reads,  Market s painful plummet continues. <P>Say it ain t so, Joe! <P>Republican Sarah Palin hails from tiny (but Main Street) Wasilla, Alaska, about 45 minutes from Anchorage, where today the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> refers readers looking for financial news to the B section, the paper s Nation/World section. <P>Here s a different approach: If Main Street is synonymous with Middle America, is Main Street located at the middle of America? The geographic center of our 50 states sits just north of Rapid City, S.D., and today the <CITE>Rapid City Journal</CITE> asks,  When will the financial meltdown hit bottom? In Newark, N.J., <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> uses a banner atop its front page to ask the similarly rhetorical  How Low Will It Go? <P>Finally, not on Main Street but on a Maine street, the <CITE>Portland Press Herald</CITE> highlights its state s lobster industry, which is suffering. Right about this time of year Maine should be entering its usual high season for lobsters. But this year, because fuel and bait are expensive and lobsters are a luxury food item, demand has fallen off. <P>That s bad news. But eating lobsters in Maine? That s not news. That s nearly as clichéd as a politician s talking about Main Street. <P><EM>Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100808"></a> <b>October 8, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Presidential debate: Community<BR>paper makes national story its own</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>For 90 minutes Tuesday night, John McCain and Barack Obama answered questions in a town-hall debate at Belmont University in Tennessee. <P>The presidential debate was the first ever to be held in Nashville, and the question for the community newspaper, <CITE>The Tennessean</CITE>, was: How are we going to own the story? <P><CITE>The Tennessean</CITE> started by providing readers information in the days leading up to the debate. A <A class=chan href="http://tnelection.blogspot.com/" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>blog by a higher education reporter</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> shared all things debate and was republished in the next day s print edition. By Tuesday afternoon, a <A class=chan href="http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=NEWS0206" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>debate splash page</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> reported political appearances and media and celeb sightings, along with traffic updates and how-to-navigate-town information. A slideshow examined past candidates visits to the area, a game asked viewers to match a candidate s face with a quote, and video highlighted comments from a women voters roundtable held earlier at the Freedom Forum s <A class=chan href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>First Amendment Center</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG>. <P>By 6 p.m. Eastern time, the site posted  Debate Day photos, a story noted Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander s advice for McCain, and the blogger signed off to head to debate hall. By 7 p.m., pundits and Nashvillians weighed in, and the site noted excitement by Belmont neighbors. At 8 p.m., new photos and streaming video from a debate event at the Ryman Auditorium were added. When the presidential candidates appeared on stage with moderator Tom Brokaw at 9 p.m., streaming video of the debate began. <P>By 10 p.m., <CITE>The Tennessean</CITE> posted an AP story on candidates comments on the causes and cures for the economic crisis. When it was all said and done, <A class=chan href="http://www.mogulus.com/tnlive" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>debate reaction</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> was reported in more streaming video by 11 p.m. <P>By the time the printed <CITE>Tennessean</CITE> was dropped at doorsteps, Tennessean.com s homepage was divided into thirds to report on  Nashville,  The Main Event and  Yesterday in Review. Stories included an analysis and fact-checking; yesterday s events around Belmont were reported on <A class=chan href="http://gannett.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/gannett-nashville-056-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=articleplayer&amp;maven_referralPlaylistId=playlist&amp;maven_referralObject=881093464&amp;maven_referrer=staf" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>video</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG>; the <A class=chan href="http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=DN&amp;Dato=20081007&amp;Kategori=NEWS01&amp;Lopenr=810080802&amp;Ref=PH" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>night s festivities</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> were chronicled in photos; polls tallied  Who won and <A class=chan href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DRkg5BKfMG37qaz43Gb1ZA_3d_3d" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG> Who had the best answer; </A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> and comments from four undecided voters were charted in <A class=chan href="http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN119573107.PDF" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG> Did they change any minds? </A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>But the Web features weren t the only special treatment given the debate. A large photo and the headline  Seeking Trust filled <CITE>The Tennessean s</CITE> front page.  Barack Obama and John McCain, in their Belmont debate, paced the floor, exchanged barbs and tried to connect with worried voters, said <CITE>The Tennessean</CITE>, referring to images and reaction inside. <P>And, as if to promise more, it added at the bottom of the page:  27 days until election. <P><B>Economy as the key word & </B> As <CITE>USA Today</CITE> reported  $2 trillion wiped out of retirement funds in the last 15 months, newspapers noted that the failing economy was the main debate headline.  Town hall questions make it clear & It s the economy, senators, the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> said.  Economy rules, pronounced the <CITE>Hattiesburg</CITE> (Miss.) <CITE>American</CITE>. <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> of Newark, N.J., called it  Wrestling over the economy.  Economy in the spotlight, noted the <CITE>Springfield</CITE> (Mo.) <CITE>News-Leader</CITE>. And said the <CITE>Omaha</CITE> (Neb.) <CITE>World-Herald</CITE>:  Tottering economy at center stage. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100708"></a> <b>October 7, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Financial worries the world over<BR>lead newspapers the world over</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The first line of the headline on the lead story in today s <CITE>Washington Post</CITE> says it best and says it for and to all:  Global Stocks Sink as Crisis Spirals. Newspapers the world over are reporting on the financial problems that seem to be truly universal. <P><CITE>The Wall Street Journal Europe</CITE> in Brussels leads with  Markets plummet around the world, while <CITE>The Wall Street Journal Asia</CITE> in Hong Kong tells its readers that  Fear puts chokehold on global markets. In Paris, <CITE>La Tribune</CITE> says there is panic in the stock market, while <CITE>The Jerusalem Post</CITE> leads with  Dow s wild ride shakes globe. <CITE>Gulf News</CITE> in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has an all caps banner  BOOM & AND GLOOM, and <CITE>The Times</CITE> in Johannesburg, South Africa, reports the drop in value of the local currency and that  Investors flee markets. <P><CITE>Financial Review</CITE> in Sydney, Australia, banners  Markets slide as contagion spreads through Europe, <CITE>The Sun</CITE> in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, says,  Wall Street tumbles in global sell off, <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Calcutta, India, notes a  Ripple of terror across markets, <CITE>Portafolio</CITE> in Bogota, Colombia, reports on  another day in the red and the <CITE>The Press</CITE> in Christchurch, New Zealand, also sees red with  Treasury books  sea of red ink.  Meanwhile, <CITE>Iran Daily</CITE> in Tehran advises the free world that  Free economic theories doomed. <P>In the United States, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> banner headline reports  Fears of world recession deepen, <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> reports on  Global sell-off with a drop headline noting that  Markets tank worldwide as fears of a wide-scale recession spread, and <CITE>The Idaho Statesman</CITE> in Boise also says,  Investors fear worldwide recession. <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> has a two-word banner:  Worldwide worry, and <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> in Newark N.J., also tells it all in a two-word banner but makes plural with  Worldwide Worries. <CITE>The Birmingham</CITE> (Ala.) <CITE>News</CITE> reports,  Fed weighs radical move in debt market, and <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> in Cleveland tells its readers about  Scary day on the stock market. <P>The tabloid <CITE>New York Post</CITE> takes a different approach, reaching back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt s first inaugural address in 1933 to quote in a head that almost fills the page to advise that  The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself, adding that  FDR was right then. And he s right now. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100608"></a> <b>October 6, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Financial crisis reaches Europe<BR>and rates front-page coverage</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>We are not alone. <CITE>The New York Times </CITE> lead headline today reports that  Financial Crises Spread in Europe, a situation reflected in a sampling of west European newspapers. <P>The immediate problem is with banks in Germany, with <CITE>The Wall Street Journal Europe, </CITE>published in Brussels, Belgium, telling its readers in a banner headline that  Germany backs deposits as crisis grows. Two Brussels dailies  <CITE>De Morgen </CITE>and <CITE>Het Nieuwsblad  </CITE> lead with the troubles of Fortis, an insurance and banking firm based in Belgium but active in much of Europe. <P>In Germany itself, <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel </CITE>and <CITE>Die Welt </CITE>in Berlin play up the state guarantee of savings accounts as do our friends at the <CITE>Heilbronner Stimme </CITE>in Heilbronn and at the <CITE>Suedwest Presse </CITE>in Ulm. The <CITE>Financial Times Deutschland </CITE>in Hamburg has a banner headline for the state guarantees with a price tag of 568 billion Euros. In neighboring Austria, the <CITE>Salzburger Nachrichten</CITE> in Salzburg offers a new sound of music, reporting that the government will guarantee bank accounts, while the <CITE>Kurier </CITE>in Vienna leads with  More protection for the saver and the competing <CITE>Der Standard </CITE>plays up  Full protection for the saver, linking it to the action in Germany. But the <CITE>Kleine Zeitung </CITE>in Graz asks whether there will be a full guarantee of savings. <P><CITE>La Stampa </CITE>in Torino leads with  Berlin: guarantee for savings, and <CITE>La Repubblica </CITE>in Rome does the same. <CITE>El Pais </CITE>in Madrid, Spain, also leads with the German guarantee of savings, while <CITE>Trouw </CITE>in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the <CITE>Basler Zeitung</CITE> in Basel, Switzerland, play up the increasing financial crisis in Europe. <CITE>The Daily Telegraph </CITE>in London reports  Treasury planning to take shares in banks, but <CITE>The Guardian </CITE>in London says,  Treasury anger at German savings move, with  UK under pressure to match guarantee. <P>But our favorite lead headline is in <CITE>La Tribune, </CITE>the Paris financial daily, reporting  Crisis: America acts, Europe discusses, a somewhat rare nod in praise of something done in the United States. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100308"></a> <b>October 3, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Spirited but cordial:<BR>One heckuva debate? </SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Lloyd Bentsen jabbed Dan Quayle with  You are no Jack Kennedy. George H.W. Bush lectured Geraldine Ferraro on foreign policy, and she struck back. But Thursday night s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin was devoid of a zinger like in 1988 or the hand-to-hand combat of 1984.</P> <P> Spirited and  pointed described the debate, but  cordial and  courteous also appeared in headlines.  Spirit of St. Louis? <EM>The Plain Dealer</EM> of Cleveland asked.  Polite. </P> <P>That s a bit of a yawn for the front page.</P> <P> Biden-Palin debate lacks expected fire, the <EM>Times-Picayune</EM> of New Orleans said.</P> <P>The only 2008 vice presidential debate was held in St. Louis, where the <EM>Post-Dispatch </EM>said,  Candidates accomplish their missions. The <EM>San Antonio</EM> <EM>Express-News</EM> offered a debate scorecard, the <EM>Omaha</EM> (Neb.) <EM>World-Herald</EM> declared:  There s no loser in expectations game. </P> <P>Many headlines focused on Palin, who, when asked earlier by Katie Couric what newspapers and magazines she read regularly, said:  I ve read most of them. Phrases such as  held her own and  stands her ground were common. Said <EM>The Journal News</EM> in Westchester, N.Y.,  Palin tops low expectations. The <EM>Daily News</EM> of New York declared:  No Baked Alaska. In a front-page commentary, the <EM>Orlando</EM> (Fla.)<EM> Sentinel</EM> instructed,  Republicans can wipe sweat from brows. </P> <P>Palin s folksy style rubbed off on headline writers.   Heck of a show, <EM>The Oregonian</EM> of Portland said.  Debate?  Darn right,  noted the <EM>San Jose </EM>(Calif.)<EM> Mercury News</EM>. <EM>The Hartford</EM> (Conn.) <EM>Courant</EM> broke out quotes   Best Digs,  The Folksy Touch and  Maverick, Shmaverick. </P> <P>From Biden s home state, Delaware, <EM>The News Journal</EM> of Wilmington noted the focus on the middle-class vote. Said <EM>The Wichita</EM> (Kan.) <EM>Eagle</EM>,  Candidates aim for middle-class touch in debate. </P> <P>In Detroit, the debate was secondary news after the John McCain campaign pulled its forces from Michigan.  Decision alters strategy in race for White House, <EM>The Detroit News</EM> said. Barack Obama campaigned in the state on Thursday, and the <EM>Free Press</EM> had an  exclusive interview with the Democrat on  What keeps Obama awake at night. Last night, it wasn t the debate.</P> <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100208"></a> <b>October 2, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A bailout, by any other name, <BR>is still the same</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Emily Hedges</P> <P>Last night, the Senate passed a bill to help out the U.S. financial markets. Although, according to <A class=chan href="http://blogs.afp.com/?post/2008/09/30/White-House%3A-Your-status-is-wrong" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>this story</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG>, the White House does not prefer the term "bailout," many newspaper editors used this word on their front pages. Let's take a look at the language.</P> <P>The headlines of <EM>The Birmingham </EM>(Ala.) <EM>News, </EM>"Senate Passes $700 Billion Bailout Bill," and the Tucson&nbsp;<EM>Arizona Daily Star,</EM> "Senate OKs Bailout Plan," are good examples of what most newspapers did -- straightforward headlines with the word "bailout."</P> <P>Some editors preferred "rescue" to "bailout." New Orleans's <EM>Times-Picayune </EM>preferred "rescue" in its headline, "Senate Passes Rescue Proposal." The <EM>Telegram &amp; Gazette </EM>of Worcester, Mass., called the major backers&nbsp;of the bill "Rescue squad."&nbsp;Fort Myers, Fla.'s <EM>News-Press</EM> pictured a cozy time on the Senate floor: "Senate Embraces Rescue Plan."</P> <P>Mary Poppins said a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, and many editors agree. Sugary language dripped from many headlines including those of Melbourne's <EM>Florida Today, </EM>" 'Sugar' helps Senate swallow bailout bill," and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.'s <EM>Sun Sentinel</EM>, "Senate's Recipe to Make Bailout Palatable: Add Sweeteners."</P> <P>Many headlines featured numbers. The <EM>Laramie</EM> (Wyo.) <EM>Boomerang</EM> made "Yea 74, Nay 25" its headline, with a nod to local news by noting that both Wyoming senators voted against the bill. The amount of the bailout was referenced in many headlines, though the figure varied. Jackson, Miss.'s <EM>Clarion-Ledger</EM> called it a "$700B Bailout," while the <EM>Pittsburgh Tribune-Review</EM> noted an updated -- and inflated -- figure: "Senate passes fat $810B fix."</P> <P><EM>The Charlotte</EM> (N.C.) <EM>Observer </EM>was one of few papers to note in its headline that the bailout bill includes tax cuts. The <EM>Portsmouth</EM> (N.H.) <EM>Herald</EM> quoted a knowledgeable source, "Experts: Rescue vital."</P> <P>One of our favorite places to read the news is the tabloids. The New York tabloids had a field day with the news. Long Island's <EM>Newsday</EM> used a pun: "Senate to House: Bail's in Your Court." The <EM>Daily News</EM> said, "It's on the House," and the <EM>New York Post</EM> headline read "Oink! Oink! Senate OKs rescue deal full of pork."</P> <P>No matter what you want to call the bill, the bottom line and the front-page news is that the Senate&nbsp;approved it. The <EM>Times-Republican</EM> of Marshalltown, Iowa, cut to the chase with a big&nbsp;stamp-of-approval graphic on the top of&nbsp;its front page.&nbsp;&nbsp;</P> <P><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG><EM>Emily Hedges</A></SPAN></EM></FONT></STRONG><EM> is an assistant editor at the Newseum</EM>.</P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#100108"></a> <b>October 1, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Baseball playoffs: Eight<BR>teams, eight dreams</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>While Washington lawmakers might not be able to agree on a financial bailout, there s no disagreement among fans of eight baseball teams: Let the playoffs begin! <P><CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> has  Visions of an elusive I-5 series between the Dodgers and Angels. The <CITE>Daily News </CITE>of Los Angeles promotes a 12-page baseball preview section and tonight s  Windy City vs. City of Angels (Cubs vs. Dodgers) game. <P>The Angels meet the Boston Red Sox tonight.  For Sox owner Henry, the joy comes daily, <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> said in a profile of billionaire owner John Henry. There is less joy in the <CITE>Cape Cod Times</CITE>:  Angels ready as Sox limp into L.A. <P>The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, last night in a one-and-done playoff. From northwest Indiana, <CITE>The Times </CITE>of Munster said,  Thanks, Danks! a reference to pitcher John Danks, who threw eight scoreless innings. <P>With both the White Sox and the Cubs in the playoffs, the<CITE> Chicago Tribune</CITE> celebrated the  once-in-a-lifetime event, noting  the last time this happened was in 1906. The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> proclaimed:  Worth the Wait. The <CITE>Daily Herald</CITE> of suburban Chicago provided equal treatment with a  Black &amp; Blue package. <P>The White Sox meet the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, and the <CITE>St. Petersburg Times</CITE> pictured a teen, Zac Giparas, who will be sitting above third base. Zac also was in the stands 10 years ago at the Rays first game. <P>With the Twins  Outta There, Minnesotans face the long, cold months until spring training with Midwest optimism.  Someday & they will look back and realize what a remarkable season they had, the <CITE>St. Paul Pioneer Press</CITE> said of the Twins. <P>Chicago wasn t the only city in waiting.  It has been 9,478 days since the Brewers & lost Game 7 of the 1982 World Series, the <CITE>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</CITE> reminded readers. From Wisconsin s capital, the <CITE>State Journal </CITE>also had 1982 on its mind. Pairing photos from 1982 and today, the front page said,  Brewers fast forward, with 26 years of perspective. <P>The Brewers face the Philadelphia Phillies today, and the <CITE>Bucks County Courier Times</CITE> in Levittown, P a., was  Looking for something to hate about the Brewers. <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> of Wilmington, Del., compared Philly and Milwaukee:  Blue-collar cities share little more than a thirst for a champ. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target= blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#093008"></a> <b>September 30, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>'Dark Day' makes<BR>news all over the world</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>No matter where you are, chances are good that the newspaper you pick up today will have major Page One coverage of the House of Representatives failure to pass financial rescue legislation to help resolve the economic problems. <P><CITE>The Morning Call </CITE>in Allentown, Pa., reports about a  Dark Day, and <CITE>The Dallas Morning News </CITE>banners the dollar amount of the stock market drop because the $700 million bailout failed   $1.1 trillion lost. <P>The <CITE>Press-Register </CITE>in Mobile, Ala., leads with  Shock, then a drop, and <CITE>The Press-Enterprise </CITE>in Riverside, Calif., reports  Derailed rescue triggers chaos. <P>Many U.S. newspapers use much of their front page in creative packages, often charting the downward spiral of the Dow in red ink. The <CITE>St. Petersburg Times </CITE>in Florida asks in second-coming type  NOW WHAT? The <CITE>Chicago Tribune </CITE>also has a question, this one about the stock market   How low will it go? <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> incorporates a chart, four stories and four solemn photos in a  Crashing Down package. The <CITE>Las Vegas Review-Journal</CITE> and <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> in Portland incorporate 777  the stock market s largest one-day point drop ever  into their design. <P>The <CITE>Bangor </CITE>(Maine) <CITE>Daily News </CITE>uses a one-word banner: Meltdown, while <CITE>The Forum </CITE>in Fargo, N.D., also uses a one-word, all-caps headline:  FAILOUT. <P>But we will give today s prize to the editor of <CITE>Newsday </CITE>in Long Island, N.Y., for the Page One that you have to see to appreciate, with the BIG head proclaiming  WELL, THAT DIDN T WORK. <P>The economic problems that started in the U.S. and cut deeply into the stock market have affected markets abroad. <P><CITE>South China Morning Post </CITE>in Hong Kong leads with  Markets fall as European banks falter, <CITE>Lidove Noviny </CITE>in Prague, Czech Republic, has a photo of President Bush that is anything but happy, and <CITE>La Tribune </CITE>in Paris says,  The banks crack. <P>U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is the Page One poster boy for <CITE>Nepszabadsag </CITE>in Budapest, Hungary, while <CITE>La Vanguardia </CITE>in Barcelona, Spain, says it in one big English word   Crash! In London, <CITE>The Guardian</CITE> s banner reports  Panic grips the world s markets, and <CITE>Clarin </CITE>in Buenos Aires, Argentina, tells its readers about the  worldwide crisis. <P><CITE>The Times </CITE>in Johannesburg , South Africa, says it all with a photo of a troubled trader labeled  Nightmare on Wall Street. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092908"></a> <b>September 29, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Election surprises in Europe<BR>are major stories for many</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>While American dailies are focusing on the economic bailout plan and who will be the next president, elections yesterday in other countries are making headlines in Europe today. <P>In national elections in Austria, the far-right political parties made major gains, although the Social Democrats won the most votes. <CITE>Kurier</CITE> in Vienna tells it all with a banner about the  Radical swing to the right, and <CITE>Der Standard</CITE>, also in Vienna, has a two-line banner headline reporting on the  debacle for the great coalition and the  triumph for the right. Another Vienna daily, <CITE>Die Presse</CITE>, trumpets the  Victory of the third camp. <CITE>Kleine Zeitung</CITE> in Klagenfurt has a couple of sad-looking politicians taking up most of the page with a lead headline about the Christian Socialists falling off, while the <CITE>Vorarlberger Nachrichten</CITE> in Vorarlberg reports that the  election brings a swing to the right and the <CITE>Salzburger Nachrichten</CITE> in Salzburg tells its readers that  Despite historic defeat, the great coalition hopes to remain in power. <P>Moving next door to the German state of Bavaria, yesterday s state election was a shocker that might have countrywide repercussions in next year s national elections. That is why the story rates top coverage in most of Germany. <P>The Christian Socialist Union (CSU) has ruled Bavarian in unchallenged fashion with an absolute majority since 1962. Indeed, in the last major election four years ago the CSU had 60.7% of the vote, which dropped down to about 43.5% yesterday. The <CITE>Sueddeutsche Zeitung</CITE> in the Bavarian capital of Munich says it all with the headline  Devastating defeat for the CSU. The <CITE>Augsburger Allgemeine</CITE> in Augsburg, also in Bavaria, reports  Political earthquake in Bavaria, adding that  The CSU needs a coalition partner. Even the <CITE>Heilbronner Stimme</CITE> in Heilbronn in Baden-Wuerttemberg leads with  Historic debacle for the CSU. Up in Berlin, <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel</CITE> reports that  After 46 years: End of the CSU myth, and <CITE>Die Welt</CITE> leads with  Bavarian election: Heavy losses for the CSU. <P>There was another election of sorts yesterday in another country, Belarus, which has been ruled since 1994 by Alexander Lukashenko, the man often referred to as  the last dictator in Europe. The election was for the 110-seat Belarus parliament in the capital, Minsk. Lukashenko promised a free and fair election, hoping to ease his strained relations with the West. There were indeed opposition candidates, but somehow only pro-Lukashenko candidates won all 110 seats. We don t have any front pages from Belarus, but we thought that the Polish dailies might cover the election and, indeed, it s the lead story in the major Warsaw daily, <CITE>Gazeta Wyborcza</CITE>. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092608"></a> <b>September 26, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Washington s bailout plan:<BR> Hello, Goodbye </SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> Day of Chaos Grips Washington. <P><CITE>The New York Times</CITE> had that right. A tentative deal on an economic bailout was announced and denounced in a 12-hour soap opera that included a half-joking plea for cooperation from the Treasury secretary, who got down on one knee. <P>In the end, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> noted,  Talks Falter. Said USA Today,  House GOP defies Bush on bailout hours after pact seemed near. <CITE>The Palm Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Post</CITE> aptly said,  Day starts with promise, ends with finger-pointing. <P>Some invoked the name of the popular TV show.  Deal or No Deal? asked the <CITE>Orlando Sentinel</CITE>. <P><CITE>USA Today</CITE> included a tick-tock of the bailout breakdown and pictured players in the negotiations. Among the players: <UL> <LI><B>Sen. Christopher Dodd</B>, chairman of the Senate banking committee, who hails from Connecticut, where the <CITE>Record-Journal</CITE> of Meriden pictured a sign at a small business:  Mailman, Send Bills to the White House. <BR><BR> <LI><B>Sen. Richard Shelby</B>, ranking committee member, who is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the <CITE>News</CITE> noted that  negotiators planned to meet into the night to try to revive proposal  unintentionally suggesting readers look elsewhere this morning for news. <BR><BR> <LI><B>Rep. Barney Frank</B>, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who represents Massachusetts, where <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> reported,  Economic data point to recession. <BR><BR> <LI><B>Rep. John Boehner</B> of Ohio, who, in representing House Republicans, offered an alternative plan.  Earlier deal turns out to be no deal; Boehner delivers the bad news, <CITE>The Cincinnati Enquirer</CITE> said. <BR><BR> <LI><B>Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson</B>, who earlier was Goldman Sachs chairman. From Wall Street, the <CITE>Journal</CITE> reported the  largest failure in U.S. banking history Thursday and the sale of Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase.</LI></UL> <P>With conflict raging in Washington, a chorus of  Give Peace a Chance went out in Tel Aviv, as Paul McCartney performed 43 years after the Beatles were banned from Israel.  Fab McCartney wows Israel, <CITE>The Jerusalem Post</CITE> said. <P>As for tonight s planned presidential debate,  Ole Miss stage prepared if McCain, Obama show up, <CITE>The Clarion-Ledger</CITE> of Jackson, Miss., said. Barack Obama said he would be there; John McCain said maybe. Asked the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE>,  Who d win in a one-man debate? <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092508"></a> <b>September 25, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Bush s  dire message tops news<BR>from presidential campaign</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>There were some tough calls to be made last night in the nation's newsrooms. Lead with President Bush s dreary address to the nation on the economic crisis or go with Sen. John McCain's call to delay Friday's debate with Sen. Barack Obama in light of the financial situation? <P>A scan of the front pages shows that most newspapers went with the Bush speech. "Our Entire Economy is in Danger," reads the headline in the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE>, <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> and many others, quoting the president. (And with headlines like that, who needs coffee?) <P>It appears headline writers might have dug into their thesauruses last night to convey the news that things aren't good right now. Two popular words? "Dire" and "peril." "Bush makes dire appeal for fast bailout," reads the top of <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix. The <CITE>Tulsa</CITE> (Okla.) <CITE>World</CITE> leads with "Bush warns of economic peril." <P>Meanwhile, the <CITE>Quad-City Times</CITE> (Davenport, Iowa) makes Bush's plea sound like an office memo from your cranky boss. "Bush: Enact Bailout ASAP." And the one headline that White House spin-meisters might put in their scrapbook is from the <CITE>Reno</CITE> (Nev.) <CITE>Gazette-Journal</CITE>, which declares "Bush's Talk Gets High Marks." <P>No doubt Mississippi will be plenty disappointed if tomorrow's debate is canceled. Its front pages reflect that gloom: "Debate or Bailout?" screams the headline of <CITE>The Clarion-Ledger</CITE> in Jackson, while <CITE>The Commercial Appeal</CITE> from neighboring Tennessee asks, "Debate on Hold?" <P>A few papers put the debate question in a term that any sports fan  or disciplining parent  can relate to. "Time Out?" asks the Stamford, Conn., <CITE>Advocate</CITE>. "Calling a Timeout," writes <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> on McCain's announcement. <P>The <CITE>San Jose</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Mercury News</CITE> manages to get both issues up front with the aesthetically pleasing, side-by-side headline that reads "Debate Or No Debate?" and "Bailout Or No Bailout?" <P>And we know that it's more than a month before Halloween, but we are really digging the <CITE>Duluth</CITE> (Minn.) <CITE>News Tribune</CITE> headline on the economy that reads simply "Meltdown" in a ghoulish, green font that is a must-see. <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092408"></a> <b>September 24, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A hard sell on bailout;<BR>Congress not buying it</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Although the Bush administration and Congress spent much of Tuesday talking about an economic bailout, it took front pages only a few words to sum up the day. <P>The <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> of Denver called the $700 billion rescue plan a  Hard sell, while <CITE>The Salt Lake</CITE> (Utah) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> described it as a  tough sell. <P>As one editor noted, the word  bailout dominated today s pages. <P> Bailout doubt, pronounced <CITE>The Sun</CITE> of Baltimore, while <CITE>The Hartford</CITE> (Conn.) <CITE>Courant</CITE> declared,  Bailout backlash. <P> Congress not buying it, the <CITE>Waco</CITE> (Texas) <CITE>Tribune-Herald</CITE> said.  Bailout proposal runs into buzz saw, the <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> said. <P>That buzz saw was lawmakers interest in including oversight and limits on executive compensation. <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE> pictured major players in the negotiations and said,  Bailout Face-Off. <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland broke out the sticking points. The <CITE>Times-Republican</CITE> in Marshalltown, Iowa, noted that in the disagreement,  Nobody is Happy. <P>Some front pages noted dire predictions by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.  Pass bailout or face recession, <CITE>The Times</CITE> of Shreveport, La., quoted Bernanke. Some reported an FBI investigation into four financial institutions, while others included Warren Buffett s investment in ailing Goldman Sachs. And many front pages provided reaction from local congressional delegations.  Area lawmakers concerns about bailout unite some who are often on opposite sides of issues, the <CITE>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</CITE> said. <P>A few newspapers paired news from Capitol Hill with interesting sidebars. The <CITE>Lexington Herald-Leader</CITE> said,  Ky. delegation of one voice in  99 / All voted to deregulate Wall Street. <P><B>Tragedy in Finland:</B> A student gunman killed 10 at a trade school northwest of Helsinki before killing himself. <CITE>Iltalehti</CITE> in Helsinki pictured a makeshift memorial, which also was shown on the front pages of <CITE>Helsingborgs Dagblad</CITE> and <CITE>Dagens Nyheter</CITE> in neighboring Sweden. <CITE>The Daily Telegraph</CITE> in London noted,  School gun killer quizzed over YouTube video. Startling still images from his video appeared on a few front pages in Europe, including <CITE>DAG</CITE> of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and <CITE>Politika</CITE>, of Belgrade, Serbia. <CITE>El Periódico de Catalunya</CITE> in Barcelona, Spain, printed a photo from the video with similar images from gunmen in earlier school shootings. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092308"></a> <b>September 23, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Wall Street and Washington problems<BR>are Page One news around the world</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The Wall Street problems and the delay in resolving such issues as oversight of the bailout are Page One stories here, there and everywhere. <P>The <CITE>Wall Street Journal Asia</CITE>, published in Hong Kong, leads with  Japanese suitors swoop in on U.S. investment banks, while adding below,  Wall Street era comes to an end, a reaction with echoes elsewhere. <P><CITE>The South China Morning Post</CITE>, also published in Hong Kong, reports that a Japanese firm  snaps up Lehman s Asia operation, <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Calcutta, India, tells its readers,  Era of banking high-rollers ends, while <CITE>DNA</CITE> in Mumbai, India, notes the  Death of investment banking on Wall St. even as <CITE>Manila Standard Today</CITE> in the Philippines says,  Goldman, Morgan: End of an era. <P>In Europe, <CITE>Die Presse</CITE> in Vienna has a banner headline simply stating,  End of an era on Wall Street. That is also noted in <CITE>The Wall Street Journal Europe</CITE> in Brussels with the lead  Goldman, Morgan moves end an era on Wall Street, while reporting that that  Russian crisis may fuel wave of acquisitions. In Paris, <CITE>La Tribune</CITE> pulls out some of its biggest type to lead with  Non, la crise n est pas finie, which sounds almost as bad in English   No, the crisis is not finished. <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel</CITE> in Berlin says that  America must help itself, while <CITE>Financial Times Deutschland</CITE> in Hamburg leads with Wall Street burying an era. <CITE>El Pais</CITE> in Madrid leads with the end of the investment banking era in Wall Street. <P>Meanwhile, in Istanbul, <CITE>Today s Zaman</CITE> sees a rainbow with words from the prime minister believing that the  global crisis will bring opportunities for Turkey. <P>In Sydney, Australia, the <CITE>Financial Review</CITE> plays up  US bail-out fuels relief rally and <CITE>The New Zealand Herald</CITE> in Auckland agrees with its lead story  Big bailout puts shares on road to recovery. <P><CITE>The Vancouver Sun</CITE> in Canada tells U.S. neighbors to the north that  Washington and Wall Street complicit in financial crisis, which we ve read from time to time in the Lower 48. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#092208"></a> <b>September 22, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Proposed solution to financial crisis<BR>rates Page One attention all over</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The bailout of U.S. financial institutions, as proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., coupled with congressional Democrats coming up with their own terms to end the crisis, is Page One news for dailies across the country. Indeed, we thought that we would check some of the smaller newspapers in our exhibit. <P>The <CITE>Dothan Eagle</CITE> in Alabama focused on the congressional problems with headlines noting  Complicating the bailout and  Paulson resists calls from Democrats to add more help for households, <CITE>The Tribune</CITE> in San Luis Obispo, Calif., reports in its off-lead  Tax funds flashpoint in bailout debate, the <CITE>Fort Collins Coloradoan</CITE>, noting time being critical, squares off  Fed urges quick action, while the <CITE>Star-Banner</CITE> in Ocala, Fla., leads with  Paulson: No delay on bailout. <P>Moving to middle America, the <CITE>Journal Star</CITE> in Peoria, Ill., and the <CITE>Quad-City Times</CITE> in Davenport, Iowa, along with <CITE>The Hutchinson</CITE> (Kan.) <CITE>News</CITE>, play up the need for  quick or  fast action. The <CITE>St. Cloud Times</CITE> in Minnesota banners  Fed OKs banks status change, noting that  Finance giants now able to create new financial entities. <CITE>The Courier</CITE> in Findlay, Ohio, leads with  Quick action urged on $700 billion bailout plan. <P>In New England, the <CITE>Cape Cod Times</CITE> in Hyannis, Mass., tells us,   Mother of all bailouts pushed, while the <CITE>Bangor Daily News</CITE> in Maine uses a quiet  Paulson pushes $700B bailout headline. <P>It s much the same no matter where you go. <P>In Texas, the <CITE>Killeen Daily Herald</CITE> also runs with  Mother of all handouts, the <CITE>Bozeman Daily Chronicle</CITE> in Montana has as its off-lead  Paulson urges quick action on bailout, while <CITE>The Daily Times</CITE> in Farmington, N.M., has Paulson at the bottom of the page while playing up the local situation with  City set for financial crisis. The <CITE>Tri-City Herald</CITE> in Kennewick, Wash., pins the financial crisis to the election with  Campaigns scramble for economic advice, <CITE>The Daily Progress</CITE> in Thomas Jefferson s preferred city of Charlottesville, Va., reports on Paulson s push for urgent action, as does the <CITE>Rochester Democrat and Chronicle</CITE> in upstate New York. In Pennsylvania, the <CITE>Erie Times-News</CITE> uses a word one doesn t see that often, leading with  Haste urged on debt bailout. <P>There are other stories today, but nothing really tops the financial crisis, the proposed solution and the counter-proposals. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091908"></a> <b>September 19, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Biggest bailout yet gets biggest headline</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> You need to go no farther than your morning newspaper, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut told <CITE>Good Morning America s</CITE> Diane Sawyer today at the Newseum when discussing the gravity of the planned government rescue of banks. <P>From Boston and Philadelphia to Portland and Los Angeles, the proposed intervention by the federal government to shore up the country s financial woes was today s lead headline. <P> Citing Grave Financial Threats, Officials Ready Massive Rescue, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> said.  Treasury says it eyes options for protection from bad debts, <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE> said in a three-story package. <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> called the proposal  A plan to stop the bleeding. <P><CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE> asked:  Biggest bailout ever? Newsday on Long Island described it as  The Bailout to End All Bailouts. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> analyzed the proposed solution to the financial crisis and asked,  Is a relief agency the right answer? <CITE>The Salt Lake</CITE> (Utah) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> used an illustration to explain the  Economic balancing act. <P>Reaction to the plan was a  Crazy day on Wall Street, <CITE>The Cincinnati Enquirer</CITE> said, noting a 410-point gain in the Dow. <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> of Portland said,  Wall Street bounces back as officials consider relieving lenders of bad mortgages in what would be the biggest U.S. bailout yet. <P><B>A year later:</B> An aerial view of the new Mississippi River bridge was pictured above the nameplate of the <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis. It s been about a year since the old I-35W bridge collapsed, prompting nationwide concerns about infrastructure. <P><B>Moving on, moving in:</B> <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> divided its page in half vertically to report on the last day of a mayor  brought down by scandal and the first day of the city s new leader. <P><B>Waiting, wondering:</B> Six days after Hurricane Ike hit Texas, residents in Galveston and Houston remain  uncertain, frustrated trying to put lives back in order, the <CITE>Galveston County Daily News</CITE> said. The newspaper, which has served its readers despite struggles, said in a front-page note that home delivery is returning. The <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> promoted four online chats about dealing with the storm aftermath. Its centerpiece story focused on cleaning up:  Have chain saw, will work. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091808"></a> <b>September 18, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Red ink and a stressed-out broker</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Patty Rhule</P> <P>An Associated Press photo of stressed-out New York Stock Exchange trader Christopher Crotty told the story of Wednesday s financial crisis for newspapers across the country. <P> What a mess, said the Los Angeles <CITE>Daily News</CITE>, with a powerful package that laid out in words and images what the news meant to homeowners and investors.  Prices plummet to record levels throughout Southern California, with foreclosures accounting for almost half the sales. <P> And you thought Monday was bad, <CITE>The Oakland</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> said of the second-biggest drop in the Dow since Sept. 11, 2001. Both of the drops occurred this week. <P> New lows usher in new era, said <CITE>The Sacramento</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Bee</CITE>, with a package of charts and graphs on the bad news s ripple effects  from the rising price of gold to how many Americans will be able to afford retirement. <P><CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune</CITE> was more animated.  RUNNING SCARED, said the banner headline, with the pullout quote,  It s like having a fire in a cinema. Everybody is rushing to the door. <P>Looking for a bright spot, <CITE>The Washington Times</CITE> quoted former presidential candidate (and millionaire) Steve Forbes as saying that the  Crisis Could  Quickly Pass.  <P> Wall Street Wallows in Financial Quagmire, said <CITE>The Daytona Beach News-Journal</CITE> in Florida. <P>Fort Lauderdale, Fla. s <CITE>Sun Sentinel</CITE> had an innovative if unnerving front page with lots of jagged red ink to reflect the Dow s decline and three ominous headlines at the top of the page:  Lockdown drama in Boca,  We re the front line in AIDS war and  Ike victims might have washed out to sea. That s before you even get to  Crisis on Wall Street: The Dow s wild ride. <P>The <CITE>Idaho Statesman</CITE> in Boise warned that  Highway projects could fall victim to tough times. The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> said the stock market turmoil, gas prices and losses by the Cubs and Sox added up to one big  STRESS FEST. <P>Outside the world of finance, the <CITE>Detroit Free Press</CITE> scored the first interview with Elizabeth Edwards since her husband, John, confessed to having an affair:  Former political wife is Mom first. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:prhule@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Patty Rhule</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091708"></a> <b>September 17, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Insurer AIG makes national<BR>headlines with historic bailout</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>The federal government took control of insurer AIG late Tuesday in a move that generated top headlines across the U.S. <P>In its lead story, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> noted American Insurance Group s ties to subprime home mortgages. The move by the Feds, the newspaper said,  effectively nationalizes one of the central institutions in the crisis that has swept through markets this month. <P>As to why the government took action, <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE> said,  Fed sought to avert a global financial crisis.  Emergency loan intended to stave off wider economic collapse, <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix said. <P>In a reference to recent bailouts of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> said,  Fed rides to rescue yet again. <P>Word came after the evening news in the East, giving front pages an advantage in reporting the action. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> illustrated  A.I.G. s Troubles and Why They Matter. The <CITE>Hartford</CITE> (Conn.) <CITE>Courant</CITE> broke out the terms of the bailout. With AIG less than a household name, <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland answered the question,  What is AIG? ( It s the largest insurance company in the world. ) <P><CITE>The Providence</CITE> (R.I.) <CITE>Journal</CITE> localized the story by reporting on a  State SWAT team formed to protect $130 million with AIG. <CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> said,  Rescue loan eases fears of Hawai i units, for now. From Delaware, <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> of Wilmington did a staff-written story and broke out the number of AIG employees and subsidiaries incorporated in its state. <P><CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE> noted the  Historic Move Would Cap 10 Days That Reshaped U.S. Finance. <P>Besides reporting the $85-billion AIG bailout, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> bulleted daily economic developments, including a slight stock market rebound and a Federal Reserve decision not to lower interest rates. <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> of Newark, N.J., offered  Three reasons to feel good about yesterday &   And three reasons to not feel so good&  <P>Stripped across the bottom of <CITE>The Palm Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Post</CITE> was a primer on the financial crisis and  How we got here. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091608"></a> <b>September 16, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>U.S. stock market, economic<BR>problems make headlines worldwide</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P><CITE>The Washington Times</CITE> banners  A nightmare on Wall Street and then offers a small listing of the  Global Meltdown, showing how what happened in the U.S. affects markets elsewhere because it s more than an American story. And indeed that s true, affecting markets around the world. <P>The <CITE>South China Morning Post</CITE> in Hong Kong tells its readers that  Meltdown in US spooks markets, <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Calcutta, India, leads with  Belly Up, adding  Lehman goes bankrupt, Merrill in distress sale, Tata (an Indian company) ally AIG seeks cash, <CITE>DNA</CITE> in Mumbai, India, warns that  Failing US banks trigger crisis, <CITE>The Jakarta Post</CITE> in Indonesia reports  Stock markets plunge as U.S. titans collapse and the <CITE>Manila Standard Today</CITE> in the Philippines says,  Wall St. in  tectonic shift as Merrill, Lehman fall. <CITE>The Australian Financial Review</CITE> in Sydney has a banner proclaiming  Bloodbath for Wall Street banks, and <CITE>The Age</CITE> in Melbourne leads with  Gloom spreads as US financial giant collapses. <P>In another part of the world, <CITE>The Jerusalem Post</CITE> in Israel leads with  Credit crisis topples US financial icon, <CITE>Today s Zaman</CITE> in Istanbul says,  Turkey alarmed by Lehman fallout, and <CITE>Gulf News</CITE> in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, plays up  Lehman bankruptcy sparks market chaos. <P>In Europe, <CITE>La Tribune</CITE> in Paris banners an Alan Greenspan quote:  I ve never seen anything like this. <CITE>Die Welt</CITE> in Berlin reports a  Black day for the banks, the <CITE>Liechtensteiner Volksblatt</CITE> in postage stamp-sized Liechtenstein headlines its story  Black Monday, while <CITE>The Daily Telegraph</CITE> in London prefers  Meltdown Monday and <CITE>The Guardian</CITE> in London calls it  Nightmare on Wall Street. The European edition of <CITE>Stars and Stripes</CITE>, published in Griesheim, Germany, for American servicemen abroad, reports  Financial breakdown, with the drop head  Collapse of 2 Wall Street firms sends markets tumbling around the world, adding brief comments from the two candidates for president. The <CITE>International Herald Tribune</CITE> in Paris accurately notes in its lead headline that  Crisis rattles markets and nerves. <P>Looking at our South American neighbors, <CITE>El Pais</CITE> in Montevideo, Uruguay, reports that  The earthquake in Wall Street shoots the dollar, while <CITE>Perú.21</CITE> in Lima has a big  Black Monday over a graph-type arrow heading way down. Wall Street is big news today. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091508"></a> <b>September 15, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Weather, Wall Street top the news<BR>for many U.S. daily newspapers</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Wall Street and weather top the news for many of the U.S. dailies this morning, with <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> leading with  Bids to halt financial crisis reshape landscape of Wall St. and a lead about  one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street s history, referring to the problems of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. Its off-lead was the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Texas. <P><CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> does much the same, with a banner about  Massive shifts on Wall St. and a large photo of hurricane destruction near Galveston, Texas. <P>A sampling of the Texas newspapers finds the <CITE>Austin American-Statesman</CITE> bannering  Returning to find ruins, <CITE>The Beaumont Enterprise</CITE> telling evacuees  Don t rush back, the <CITE>Corpus Christi Caller Times </CITE>reporting  Unprecedented effort saves 2,000, and <CITE>The Dallas Morning News</CITE> quoting the mayor with  Do not come back to Galveston. <P><CITE>The Houston Chronicle </CITE>leads with  After the shock, reality, while warning in a Page One editorial that  It s not over, yet. <P>The Midwest also had major weather problems. The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> reports  More rain more pain, illustrated with a couple of young men paddling their boat past a partially submerged car on what was a street. The <CITE>South Bend Tribune</CITE> says it all with a head about  One weekend, 11 inches  of rain that is. <P><CITE>The Courier-Journal</CITE> in Louisville, Ky. reports  Winds maul area, with schools closed and 279,000 without power in the city, and <CITE>The Cincinnati Enquirer </CITE>says,  90% suffer outages as winds smash area. <P>In the rest of the country, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> leads with  Wall St. scrambles as banks teeter, while playing up the train accident in the area that killed 25. <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> and <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> give top treatment to Wall Street but both report the same about Galveston:  You cannot live here now. <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE> and <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> lead with Wall Street but also report the 2,000 rescued from Hurricane Ike in Texas. <P>Meanwhile, the upcoming election can t be forgotten up in Alaska, where the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> squares off  Governor s use of 2 e-mail accounts questioned while leading with  Turmoil shocks financial markets. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091208"></a> <b>September 12, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>The anniversary, the hurricane<BR>and the Palin interview</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Emily Hedges</P> <P>On the day after the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, many editors all over the U.S. decided to use the front pages to remember the tragedy. Denver's <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> had a large photo of the two presidential candidates together in New York with the headline "Common ground zero." The <CITE>Orlando Sentinel</CITE> reported on the New York, D.C. and Pennsylvania 9/11 memorials and the status of each. Long Island's <CITE>Newsday</CITE> used a touching photo of a firefighter holding his infant son at "Ground Zero 9/11/08," and the suburban Chicago <CITE>Daily Herald's</CITE> headline said what we were all thinking: "It's Still With Us." <P>Hurricane Ike is raging in the Gulf of Mexico. The effects have been felt all along the Gulf Coast, including Florida, where the <CITE>Pensacola News-Journal's</CITE> clever headline read "Surf's Way Up." The <CITE>Sun Herald</CITE> in Biloxi, Miss., had "Y<B>IKE</B>S!" above the newspaper's nameplate. But, of course, Texas will feel the strongest effects of Ike. Most of the Texas front pages have coverage of the hurricane today, including the <CITE>Fort Worth Star-Telegram</CITE> which quoted the National Weather Service warning of "certain death" in its front-page headline. The <CITE>Waco Tribune-Herald</CITE> showed the back-up of evacuees on the highway under the headline "Texans stream north." <P>Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and GOP vice presidential nominee, sat down yesterday for her first major interview since accepting the nomination. Her home state's <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> headline read "ABC tests Palin on foreign policy." <CITE>The Bakersfield Californian</CITE> repeated Palin's assertion "I'm ready" for its headline. The <CITE>New York Post</CITE> called her interview a "Call to Arms" and said "Sarah talks tough as son goes to war." Not all papers focused on her interview though. Cheyenne, Wyo.'s <CITE>Tribune-Eagle</CITE> used its front page to talk about Sarah's spectacles. "Palin's glasses are hot, hot, hot!" cried the lighthearted headline. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:ehedges@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Emily Hedges</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091108"></a> <b>September 11, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>9/11: Seven years and counting</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Bridget Gutierrez</P> <P>Anniversaries of historic events are curious affairs. Sometimes they re a big deal to newspaper editors, sometimes they re not. Exhibit A: The seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is front-page news in some communities, and not in others. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE>, <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE>, and the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> all produced fresh Page One news today by tying the date to current headlines, including the presidential campaign, trials of military detainees and the troubling economy. Others, like the <CITE>San Jose</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Mercury News</CITE> and the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE>, marked the day with front-page photos, but referred readers to apparently less-important anniversary stories inside. <P><CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE>, Baltimore s <CITE>The Sun</CITE> and <CITE>The Columbus</CITE> (Ohio) <CITE>Dispatch</CITE> gave their 9/11 articles the centerpiece treatment and local angles  as did the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> in Denver, <CITE>The State</CITE> in Columbia, S.C., <CITE>The Anniston</CITE> (Ala.) <CITE>Star</CITE>, <CITE>Hernando Today</CITE> in Brooksville, Fla. and the <CITE>Norwich</CITE> (Conn.) <CITE>Bulletin</CITE>, which asked in an emotion-filled headline:  When, if ever, does the mourning end? <P>Several, including papers in towns far from the coordinated air attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., approached today as many newspapers did the first anniversary: with unexpected and untraditional designs. Among them, the <CITE>Asbury</CITE> (N.J.) <CITE>Park Press</CITE>, <CITE>Bluffton</CITE> (S.C.) <CITE>Today</CITE>, and the <CITE>Daily Journal</CITE> in Tupelo, Miss. <P>While visitors to the Newseum s 9/11 gallery can reflect on the still-terrifying news any day of the year, there s no denying whether New York s <CITE>Newsday</CITE> considers Sept. 11, 2008, to be an important anniversary. The tabloid s front cover is dominated by a full-page, bold No. 7. <P><EM>Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#091008"></a> <b>September 10, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Big Bang Experiment<BR>Is Big Story in Europe</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Hicks Wogan</P> <P>Early this morning, around 2:30 a.m. EST, scientists in Europe launched a hugely ambitious and controversial experiment. Today s European newspapers announce the project s start with front-page stories. <P>The Large Hadron Collider is the biggest particle accelerator ever constructed. Located in a 27-kilometer-long tunnel beneath the earth s surface at the France-Switzerland border, the LHC is designed to smash together atomic particles and simulate the Big Bang that created our universe. About a month from now, particles like those test-fired today will begin colliding and scientists hope to start learning about how the universe developed. <CITE>La Repubblica</CITE> in Rome notes the news with the headline,  Oggi il Big Bang in un tunnel di 27 chilometri, così nacque l universo, which translates roughly as,  Today the Big Bang in a 27-kilometer tunnel, like this the universe was born. (Please pardon my Italian, Roman friends. <CITE>Mi scusi</CITE>.) In Spain, Madrid s <CITE>Público</CITE> features a photo of the LHC, along with the time it was set to launch, and  Europa inicia la búsqueda del origen del universe (or,  Europe begins the search for the origin of the universe ). <P>The LHC has been in construction for 14 years, has cost about $9 billion, and has involved the work of more than 10,000 scientists. <CITE>Nuernberger Nachrichten</CITE>, a paper published in Nurnberg, Germany, carries the headline,  Gigantisches Forschungsprojekt startet (or,  Giant Research Project launches ). Two Romanian papers  the <CITE>Jurnal Aradean</CITE>, published in Arad, and Cluj-Napoca s <CITE>Informatia de Cluj</CITE>  have impressive photos showing the size of the LHC. Look for the hardhat-wearing men dwarfed by the collider. <P>Also in Madrid, <CITE>El Pais</CITE> notes that the project is  En busca de la  partícula Dios,  or,  In search of the  God particle.   God particle is the nickname given to the Higgs boson, a theoretical particle that could unlock the secret of why matter has mass. <P><CITE>Deus ex machina</CITE> indeed. <P>As excitement has grown in the scientific community, doomsday theories have arisen outside of it. Critics of the project have argued it might create black holes capable of swallowing the Earth. <CITE>Il Tirreno</CITE> in Livorno, Italy, profiles the  Big Bang in laboratorio and has a sub-headline that reads,  Tranquilli, non sarà la fine del mondo ( Don t worry, it won t be the end of the world ). In recent interviews renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, like the editors at <CITE>Il Tirreno</CITE>, has sought to ease worries. London s <CITE>The Daily Telegraph</CITE> kids the doomsday notion by placing the headline,  If it s 8.31 and you re still reading this &  above a photo of the LHC. Below the photo:  & then Professor Hawking was right. <P><EM>Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090908"></a> <b>September 9, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>With national elections a year away,<br>German newspapers whoop up politics</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The United States is not the only country where an upcoming election rates Page One attention. Germany has a national election due a year from now but every one of the 16 daily newspapers on our Web site from that country today has a Page One story bearing on the election, generally involving the selection of a new leader for the SPD, the Socialist Party, and the challenge facing current Chancellor Angela Merkel. And the challenger will be Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an SPD leader in Merkel s coalition government. <P>The <CITE>Augsburger Allgemeine</CITE> in Augsburg has a picture of Steinmeier with the new Socialist leader and the head  New SPD-Duo goes on the offensive, <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel</CITE> in Berlin focuses on the ousted SPD leader who  will continue to fight, <CITE>Die Tageszeitung</CITE> in Berlin has a big photo of the candidate and the new party leader and a commentary headed  Back to the future, while the third Berlin daily, <CITE>Die Welt</CITE>, also whoops up the SPD change. In Bielefeld, the <CITE>Neue Westfaelische</CITE> reports the SPD is ready to take on Merkel, the <CITE>Braunschweiger Zeitung</CITE> in Braunschweig reports about the new SPD leader and the two dailies in Bremen  <CITE>Bremer Nachrichten</CITE> and the <CITE>Weser Kurier</CITE>  do the same. <P>Even the <CITE>Financial Times Deutschland</CITE> in Hamburg has a photo of the two, with a head reporting that the SPD will not follow a course to the left, the <CITE>Fuldaer Zeitung</CITE> in Fulda focuses on SPD party discipline, the <CITE>Sueddeutsche Zeitung</CITE> in Munich reports on the SPD and the economic situation, the <CITE>Nuernberger Zeitung</CITE> in Nuernberg quotes the SPD leader about surprises to come while the <CITE>Passauer Neue Presse</CITE> in Passau leads with Merkel congratulating Steinmeier on being selected to challenge her in next year s election. The <CITE>Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten</CITE> in Potsdam and the <CITE>Suedwest Presse</CITE> in lovely Ulm focus on the new  duo leading the Socialist Party while the <CITE>Wolfsburger Nachrichten</CITE> reports about the new SPD leader to its readers in one of the newest towns in Germany, Wolfsburg, built only about 70 years ago to house the workers of the then-new Volkswagen factory. <P>For the American readers who might complain about coverage overkill of an election two months away, try the German press for an election a year away. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090808"></a> <b>September 8, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Dailies report mortgage giants takeover<br>while worrying about another hurricane</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Two stories rate special attention today  the federal takeover of the two mortgage giants and the weather  the weather that was, the weather that is and the weather that may be. <P>Looking at the Florida dailies, the storm that is today and possibly tomorrow s big story is Hurricane Ike, which has been slamming Cuba and seems headed for Florida. Harking back to the 1952 election, when supporters of Dwight D. Eisenhower wore buttons with the slogan  I LIKE IKE, <CITE>Hernando Today</CITE> in Brooksville speaks for just about everyone in the state with the head  We don t like Ike, while the <CITE>Bradenton Herald</CITE> banners  Government seizes mortgage giants but plays up the  Danger Zone with a photo and map, noting that  Authorities beg Key West residents to evacuate. The <CITE>Charlotte Sun</CITE> leads with  Keys residents weigh evacuation but also reports  Government takes over mortgage giants ; <CITE>The Daytona Beach News-Journal</CITE> takes on  Hurricane Season 2008 with a map and  Keys residents weigh evacuation ahead of Ike but doesn t forget the mortgage story; and the <CITE>Sun Sentinel</CITE> in Ft. Lauderdale banners  U.S. mortgage takeover above the nameplate but leads with  Ike slams into Cuba and a report about South Florida being  frazzled but lucky after the storms. <CITE>El Nuevo Herald</CITE> in Miami leads with  Ike desata su furia, or  Ike unleashes its fury. <P>With Louisiana another state that may be hit by the hurricane, <CITE>The Times-Picayune</CITE> in New Orleans banners  State keeps close eye on menacing Ike while updating the problems of the previous storm with a couple of stories, including one about  More lights flicker to life. <CITE>The Advocate</CITE> in Baton Rouge reports  Keep watch on Ike but also notes that  Many still waiting for power after the last storm while <CITE>The Times</CITE> in Shreveport plays up that the previous storm  drained coffers with  Local non-profits feeling the pinch. <P>In North Carolina, hit by the previous storm and concerned about the next one, <CITE>The Fayetteville Observer</CITE> reports that  Officials in Ike s path worry about hurricane fatigue setting in, <CITE>The Daily Reflector</CITE> in Greenville leads with  Powerful Ike churns towards Gulf of Mexico and the <CITE>Winston-Salem Journal</CITE> reports  Ike pointed at Havana, Dumps on Haiti. <P>We re not there but we agree with the folks at <CITE>Hernando Today</CITE>  this time we don t like Ike. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090508"></a> <b>September 5, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>McCain s acceptance speech<BR>uses words of reformer, maverick</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>John McCain s speech accepting the Republican nomination for president was almost 4,000 words long. Two of those words stood out in today s headlines: Fight and change. <P> McCain issues a call to fight for country, <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix said about the Arizona senator who has made his maverick style a campaign theme. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> noted that McCain used the word  fight 43 times during the speech. The <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> and <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> used one of those references:   Stand up and fight.  <P>Florida newspapers seized on the use of the word  change by the four-term senator.   Change is coming, McCain promises GOP, <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE> said.  McCain wows audience at RNC, says  change is coming,  the <CITE>Tallahassee Democrat</CITE> said.  Change coming, McCain pledges, said <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> in Melbourne.   Change is coming in D.C., nation, McCain promises, <CITE>The Florida Times-Union</CITE> in Jacksonville said. <P><CITE>The Kansas City</CITE> (Mo.) <CITE>Star</CITE> and <CITE>The Wichita</CITE> (Kan.) <CITE>Eagle</CITE> combined the use of the two words.  McCain says he ll fight for change, the <CITE>Eagle</CITE> said. In reverse type, <CITE>The Kansas City Star</CITE> printed the quote   Fight for what s right  and added below,  Change is coming, nominee vows. <P>Beyond coverage of the speech, the U.S. s largest newspapers took different approaches to sidebars. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> said in an analysis,  The Party in Power, Running as if It Weren t. The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> examined how the Republican Party  portrays itself as in sync with America. <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> took a more broad view, looking at the next 60 days for both Republicans and Democrats. <CITE>USA Today</CITE> suggested  Seismic shifts in demographics & could reshape America s political system. <P>McCain s photo appeared in the center of the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE>, but the three stories were about his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The <CITE>St. Paul</CITE> (Minn.) <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE> reported that hundreds more anti-war protesters were arrested in the convention city. Its Web site included a <A class=chan href="http://extras.twincities.com/car/jail/Default.aspx" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>database</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> of county jail bookings. <P>In his speech, McCain, a veteran, mentioned his support of the military  surge in Iraq. <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> (prompted by a report by Fox News) previewed Bob Woodward s new book <CITE>The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008</CITE>. The <CITE>Post</CITE> quoted the book as saying  the U.S. troop  surge & was not the primary factor behind the steep drop in violence there during the past 16 months. <P>In Detroit, the <CITE>Free Press</CITE> and <CITE>The News</CITE> reported McCain s speech on their regular front pages. They also responded to their mayor s resignation after pleading guilty to felony charges in a perjury case. The <CITE>Free Press</CITE> published a 20-page section.  Scandal that crippled city ends with 2 felony convictions, 4 months in jail, it said. <CITE>The News</CITE> printed an eight-page section that was highlighted by the word  Surrender. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090408"></a> <b>September 4, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Palin fires back after questions<BR>about her qualifications</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>VP nominee Sarah Palin came out swinging  against her critics, her political rivals and the media  Wednesday night in a prime-time speech to the Republican convention. <P>Headline writers used varying verbs to describe her actions: <UL> <LI> Palin pulls no punches  the <CITE>Billings</CITE> (Mont.) <CITE>Gazette</CITE><BR><BR> <LI> Palin dissects opponents  <CITE>Las Vegas</CITE> (Nev.) <CITE>Review-Journal</CITE> <BR><BR> <LI> Rallies delegates by skewering media, Washington establishment  <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> </LI></UL> <P>The <CITE>Anchorage Daily</CITE> in Palin s home state of Alaska devoted the entire front page to convention events and said,  Governor goes on the offensive while introducing herself to nation. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> said Palin s speech  Electrifies Convention. Said <CITE>The Sun</CITE> of Baltimore,  Republican VP choice is roundly cheered as she defends her executive experience, mocks Obama. <P>Other headlines also used the word  mocks to describe her comments about Democrat Barack Obama.  GOP running mate mocks Obama as out-of-touch elitist who would  forfeit on Iraq, <CITE>The Commercial Appeal</CITE> of Memphis, Tenn., said. <P>Fresh off covering the Democratic convention, the Denver newspapers showed they still had spirit. <CITE>The Rocky Mountain News</CITE> called the speech  A fine how do you do, and the Post borrowed from Palin s remarks for its headline:   Pit bull Palin. The <CITE>Daily News</CITE> in New York went even further with Palin s remarks   Pit Bull in Lipstick. <P>Palin calls herself a hockey mom, and that label gave headline writers inspiration.   Hockey mom Palin uncorks bruising shots, <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE> declared. From Canada, where hockey is king, the <CITE>Toronto Star</CITE> said,  Palin aims, fires. <P>From the convention city of St. Paul, the <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE> looked at why Palin  and not Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty  was John McCain s choice:  She has a greater reputation for reform and conservatism  and plenty of human interest. <P>Looking ahead to McCain s acceptance speech tonight, the <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis pictured the senator and said,  Today, it s his town and his party. But in an analysis of Palin s speech, the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> said,  Running mate s sudden celebrity threatens to eclipse star of the show. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090308"></a> <b>September 3, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>GOP gets down to business<BR>after hurricane delay</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>With that pesky Hurricane Gustav behind them, the Republicans finally got their party started last night on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention. And judging from this morning s front-page headlines, the GOP came out swinging. <P> McCain Hailed, Obama Assailed, read the same headline in three separate newspapers  the <CITE>North County Times</CITE> (Escondido, Calif.), the <CITE>Times Daily</CITE> (Florence, Ala.) and <CITE>The Times-Tribune</CITE> (Scranton, Pa.). <P>Countless papers also led with  McCain  Ready to Lead   including the <CITE>Richmond</CITE> (Va.) <CITE>Times-Dispatch</CITE>  quoting President Bush s speech via satellite from the White House praising the Arizona senator. <P>Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., played good cop/bad cop last night, simultaneously praising McCain while launching into Sen. Barack Obama. In Lieberman s home state, the <CITE>New Haven Register</CITE> accentuated the positive with the headline  Lieberman Leads GOP Cheers, while the <CITE>Hartford Courant</CITE> classified his speech as  Lieberman s Risk. <P>Several newspapers also preview tonight s speech by controversial vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.  Can She Deliver? asks the Washington, D.C., <CITE>Examiner</CITE>.  Tonight, It s Palin s Show, bellows <CITE>The Sacramento</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Bee</CITE>. The <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> calls it  Palin s Big Test. <P>The <CITE>Boston Herald</CITE> wins the coveted  Newseum Front Page of the Day award with its picture of Palin pointing an assault rifle at readers with the headline,  Back Off. <P>Meanwhile, newspapers in Florida have one eye on the convention but another twitchy eye on another serious weather threat.  Here They Come, warns the <CITE>Sun Sentinel</CITE> of Fort Lauderdale about the hurricane trifecta of Hanna, Ike and Josephine, which are making their way toward the East Coast. "Republicans can breathe a sigh a relief, though. These babies aren t expected to hit until the weekend." <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#090208"></a> <b>September 2, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Hurricane, pregnancy take the play<BR>from GOP convention opening</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The grand opening of the convention of the Grand Old Party yesterday should have been the big story today, but two other events took the play on many front pages. <P>One was the Gulf Coast hit by Hurricane Gustav, whose wrath varied with how far you were from the scene. The other was the announcement that Sarah Palin, presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee, has an unmarried pregnant teenage daughter. And although even the Democratic Party s presidential candidate suggested that reporters  back off the pregnancy story, no one really agreed that  people s children are especially off-limits, as suggested by Barack Obama. <P><CITE>The New York Times</CITE> leads with  Spared a direct hit, New Orleans exhales, with the off-lead  Palin disclosures spotlight McCain s screening process, reporting that a vetting team is now in Alaska to check out the candidate. <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> leads with  Hurricane, Palin Roil the Start of GOP Convention but  New Orleans Levees Tested as Gustav Lashes Gulf Coast rates a bigger head. Both dailies have storm photos on Page One. <P>In Alaska, the <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> runs a banner headline  Pregnancy steals spotlight, although one of the drop heads notes that  Both campaigns call it a private family matter; Palin retains GOP popularity. <P>Down where the hurricane hit, the storm was big news. Starting with Louisiana, <CITE>The Times-Picayune</CITE> in New Orleans banners  SAFE AT HOME, adding  No flooding, but massive power outages as Gustav weakens with a big photo dominating the page. <CITE>The Town Talk</CITE> in Alexandria banners  GUSTAV MARCHES IN and all the rest of the page is about the storm, and <CITE>The Advocate</CITE> in Baton Rouge reports  BR pounded and warns that  Paper s delivery may be late. <P>In Mississippi, according to the <CITE>Sun Herald</CITE> in Biloxi, a one-word banner says it all:  HAMMERED. <CITE>The Clarion-Ledger</CITE> in Jackson goes with  BLOWING THROUGH, <CITE>Daily Journal</CITE> in Tupelo tells its readers that  Gustav slams Gulf Coast, and <CITE>The Mississippi Press</CITE> in Pascagoula heaves a sigh with the banner  County escapes major damage. <P>Parts of Texas in the path the storm also played it up, with the <CITE>Temple Daily Telegram</CITE> leading with  Waiting for Gustav to fade away, <CITE>The Beaumont Enterprise</CITE> asking  Gustav who?, adding that  Residents trickle back into town after mandatory evacuation order, and <CITE>The Lufkin Daily News</CITE> warning its readers that  Hard winds and heavy rain expected as hurricane s effects likely to hit Angelina County. <P>Meanwhile in the convention city, the <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE> in St. Paul, Minn., calls it all  Composed& chaotic, while the <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> in Minneapolis leads with  For GOP, a day of distractions. The <CITE>West Central Tribune</CITE> in nearby Willmar, Minn., offers some hope with the banner  Normal convention could start today. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082908"></a> <b>August 29, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Front pages embrace change<BR>to report acceptance speech</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P><CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> in Portland said it was a  Nomination like no other, and the <CITE>St. Petersburg</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Times</CITE> called it a  Dream Night. <P>And so a special night deserved a special page. <P>Many front pages changed their formats to incorporate large photos, large headlines, pulled quotes and other special treatments to share news from Barack Obama s speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president. <P> Obama s Promise, <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> said. With just one story on its special convention front page, it added:  On historic night, nominee vows path to prosperity, justice. <P>Two-thirds of <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland was a dramatic Getty Images photo of Obama on stage at Denver s Invesco Field. The <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> used an AP photo with flags waving. <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> and <CITE>The Kansas City</CITE> (Mo.) <CITE>Star</CITE> showed Obama before a sea of  Change placards. The <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> printed a photo of the Obamas and the Bidens the width of its page. <CITE>The Virginian-Pilot</CITE> of Norfolk pictured a crowded stadium and said,  Amid a Sea of Support, Obama Accepts Nod. <CITE>The Bakersfield Californian</CITE> managed to include eight photos to illustrate convention news. <P>Headlines focused on Obama s words.   America, now is not the time for small plans,  <CITE>The Burlington</CITE> (Vt.) <CITE>Free Press</CITE> quoted Obama. California front pages alone showed the range of quotes from the speech before more than 75,000. <CITE>The Sun</CITE>, San Bernardino:   It s about you.  <CITE>Daily Breeze</CITE>, Torrance:   Eight is Enough.  <CITE>The Oakland Tribune</CITE>:   Now is the time.  <CITE>Inland Valley Daily Bulletin</CITE>, Ontario:   I get it.  <P><B>What wasn t on the front page:</B> News of John McCain s GOP running mate wasn t leaked. McCain will appear today with his choice in Dayton, Ohio, where the <CITE>Daily News</CITE> said,  McCain arrives, stays mum about VP. <P><B>Of things to come:</B> On the front page of <CITE>The Times-Picayune</CITE> of New Orleans, convention news shared the stage with a potential hurricane targeting the Gulf of Mexico.  Evacuation order  very probable for Saturday, it said ahead of Tropical Storm Gustav.  State, federal agencies prepare united response, <CITE>The Times</CITE> of Shreveport, La., reported. Today is the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the timing of Gustav s arrival put the coastal areas on edge.  Nerves Tighten, the <CITE>Sun Herald</CITE> of Biloxi, Miss., said. Florida front pages also were keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hanna in the Atlantic.  Storms Flank Florida, <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE> said. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082808"></a> <b>August 28, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Page 1 records Obama<BR>nomination for history</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> A night for history. <P><CITE>USA Today</CITE> said it best after Democrats made history by being the first major party to nominate an African-American for president. <P>It was unbelievable news for some, including a California delegate who 45 years ago marched on Washington and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King s  I Have a Dream speech.  45 Years Later, Witnesses to Dr. King s Dream See A New Hope, <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> said. <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland printed a Newsday piece that began,  So many Americans thought this moment would never come. The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> used two words:  Believe it. <P><CITE>The Virginian-Pilot</CITE> in Norfolk pictured its former governor  the U.S. s first African-American governor  and said Douglas Wilder and other black politicians went to the convention  to witness the moment. <P><CITE>The Dallas Morning News</CITE> said,  Obama s nomination has the nation in unfamiliar territory. <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> noted a  Changing of the Guard, in reporting that a new generation of civil rights leaders was given prime-time speaking slots at the Democratic National Convention. <P>At the end of the night, nominee Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the convention, joining VP nominee Joe Biden on stage. Photos of the two appeared almost everywhere. <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> called it  Nominees Night. <P><CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> said,  Candidate Gets Boost From the Clintons and offered an analysis of former President Bill Clinton s endorsing speech. <P> Historic, by acclamation, <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE> said, noting that Obama gained the nomination after Sen. Hillary Clinton stopped a roll-call vote after 30 states and territories and called for nomination by acclamation.  Clinton interrupts roll call to direct all  ayes on him, the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat Gazette</CITE> of Little Rock said. <P>In a treatment that stood out from others, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> used a sketch of Obama with a profile in advance of tonight s acceptance speech.  Barack Obama, half black and half white, fights the undertow of race, it said. The <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> noted tonight s challenge for Obama:  Not only inspire us but reach us where we live. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082708"></a> <b>August 27, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Hillary story unites front pages</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Patty Rhule</P> <P>When we want a jazzy headline, we turn to New York s tabloids, which didn t disappoint in reporting on Hillary Clinton s swan song to her presidential bid at the Democratic convention. <P> Heal-ary, blared New York s <CITE>Daily News</CITE>  but with a teaser to a story inside that indicated a touch of doubt:  What she said and what she <CITE>really</CITE> meant. <P>The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> took a bottom-line approach atop a photo of a smiling Sen. Barack Obama watching the speech:  Obama s Verdict:  She Delivered.  <P> Clinton closes the book on her historic quest, wrote <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., with a subhead using one of Clinton s funniest quips,  She urges  sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits to get behind Obama. <P> Team Obama was how the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> in Denver saw it. <P> Clinton Puts Obama First, Only, said Clinton s former home-state paper, the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat-Gazette</CITE> in Little Rock. Its subhead referred to a local Democratic leader who was killed just before the Democratic convention:  Speech praises Gwatney, takes jabs at McCain. <P> Reaching across the great divide, said <CITE>The Dispatch</CITE> in Casa Grande, Ariz., in GOP rival John McCain s home state.  Clinton salutes Obama, Democrats rip McCain, it added. <P><CITE>The Bakersfield Californian</CITE> had Clinton in glorious orange under the headline  A Plea for Unity with a subhead that quoted from her speech  & the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. <P>No translation was necessary for <CITE>La Opinion s</CITE> headline, quoting Clinton:  Obama es mi candidato. <P> Clinton claims moment, said the Merrillville, Ind., <CITE>Post-Tribune</CITE>, atop a lovely AP photo of Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea.  Runner-up to Obama in bitter primary makes case for her rival with eye on own political future. Phew, that about covers it. <P>But  Some aren t over the Hill, reported <CITE>The Gazette</CITE> in Colorado Springs, reflecting Clinton supporters who aren t sold on Obama. <P><CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> was simpatico.  A bittersweet day for some, it said. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:prhule@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Patty Rhule</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082608"></a> <b>August 26, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Ted Kennedy snags some headlines<BR>as Democratic convention opens</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Michelle Obama might have been the headliner, but Ted Kennedy also netted some of the headlines from last night s opening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Some editors twinned up Michelle Obama and Sen. Kennedy, and others gave the play to the presidential candidate s wife. <P>The <CITE>East Valley Tribune</CITE> in Scottsdale, Ariz., has a big photo of the smiling senator and the headline  Ailing Kennedy electrifies convention, the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat Gazette</CITE> in Little Rock leads with  Kennedy fires up Democrats, while the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> has as its off-lead  Rousing salute as Kennedy passes torch and <CITE>The Lewiston Tribune </CITE>in Idaho banners  Kennedy calls upon party faithful. The tabloid <CITE>New York Post</CITE> fills Page One with a Kennedy photo and the headline  Old lion roars. And <CITE>The Boston Globe </CITE>said,  Kennedy s speech sets the agenda for all the speeches to follow. <P>The<CITE> Palm Beach Post</CITE> in Florida gives primary play to  Wife reveals Obama s soft side, urges lesson from  improbable rise, with a separate story that  Kennedy s speech galvanizes crowd. <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE> seems to combine the two with  Wife: Obama believes in American dream and the drop headline   Hopes rise again, Kennedy says in praising candidate. The <CITE>Corvallis</CITE> (Ore.) <CITE>Gazette-Times </CITE>banners  Kennedy, Michelle Obama rally Dems, even as <CITE>The Courier-Journal</CITE> in Louisville, Ky., reports,  Obama, Kennedy urge Democrats to unite. For the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times,</CITE> it s all Michelle, referred to as  South Side pride, and our friends at <CITE>The Monitor </CITE>in McAllen, Texas, lead with  Michelle wows  em. <P>What about the newspapers in Colorado where all this is happening? Well, that s a special case. <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> s convention front page, separate from its regular front page, carries the nameplate <CITE>The Denver Post & Politico</CITE> and is all about the political doings and the banner head  Michelle s view. The <CITE>Aurora Sentinel</CITE> has a big photo of the delegates assembled and the headline  Dems pack the house ; <CITE>The Gazette </CITE>in Colorado Springs plays up Michelle Obama s  Family, values and a dream speech with a bigger picture of a teen delegate to the convention; the <CITE>Fort Collins Coloradoan</CITE> plays up opening night with photos and a story; and <CITE>The Daily Sentinel</CITE> in Grand Junction focuses on Western states being a key to election victory while reporting Michelle Obama s speech, with picture. <P>Finally, perhaps we missed others but we found only one Tammy Wynette fan among today s editors. The Washington, D.C., edition of <CITE>The Examiner</CITE> has a big picture of today s heroine with the head  Michelle stands by her man. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082508"></a> <b>August 25, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Olympics end, convention s start<BR>make for lively, newsy Monday</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The Olympics ended yesterday, and the Democratic National Convention begins tonight in Denver, giving big and small U.S. dailies more Page One news than might be hoped for on a Monday morning in August. <P><CITE>The Tuscaloosa News</CITE> in Alabama squares off a hometown angle to  Local Dems head for Denver, while asking,  After glow of games, what s next for China? The <CITE>East Valley Tribune</CITE> in Mesa, Ariz., answers that with much of the front page devoted to  Games impact enduring, and  McCain rips Obama s choice of Biden for VP. The <CITE>North County Times</CITE> in Escondido, Calif., takes a middle-of-the-road approach to the games with  Mixed legacy likely for China s Olympics, while leading with  Obama aims for vote of blue-collar workers, a head similar to many seen this morning. <P>Closer to the convention scene, the <CITE>Aurora Sentinel</CITE> in Colorado has a big front page photo of cops at the ready with the caption  IT S SHOWTIME! Protests snarl traffic ahead of opening day of the Democratic convention in Denver. Its Olympics story is inside but teased on Page One with  USA closes out Olympics with hoops redemption. <CITE>The Day</CITE> in New London, Conn., has an Olympics photo and asks,  What s the next act for China? while noting that  Democrats heading to Denver see that there is work to do. <P>VP candidate Joe Biden is the lead story in his home state daily, <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., with  Biden s test: female voters, while also reporting that  China garners praise for Olympics. <CITE>The Ledger</CITE> in Lakeland, Fla., tells its readers that  All Fla. delegates in place and expected  to be key again, while still playing up the Olympics with a picture and a look to the 2012 games in London. <P>In Marietta, Ga., the <CITE>Daily Journal</CITE> leads with  Obama, Clinton focusing on unity, and also reporting,  Olympics take final bow in Beijing. The <CITE>Journal Star</CITE> in Peoria, Ill., leads with the familiar  Obama targets middle class but the big picture goes with  Celebrating Olympic success. The <CITE>Times-Republican</CITE> in Marshalltown, Iowa, uses about a quarter of its front page to say  Farewell Beijing, while also noting Obama s blue-collar approach. <P>The <CITE>Lansing State Journal</CITE> in Michigan uses much of Page One to report  16  glorious days of Olympic feats go out with superstar-studded bang, and noting that  Dems in Denver pursue harmony, history, humility. We ll see about that later in the week. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082208"></a> <b>August 22, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A little housekeeping<BR>before political conventions</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> How many houses do you and Mrs. McCain have? <CITE>Politico</CITE> asked what seemed like a simple question of John McCain. But his response  that his staff would provide an answer  created a round of campaign sparring  and headlines. <P>The senator and his wife, Cindy, a beer heiress, have homes in several locations: <P><B>Arizona:</B> <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> pictured a Phoenix condominium tower:  Homing in on McCain Slip. <P><B>Metro Washington, D.C.:</B>  Houses Add Up to A Snag for McCain, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> said. Its Style section offered,  Take the McCain House Tour! adding  With Places to Hang His Hat On Two Coasts  and a Few in Between  the Candidate is Living Large. <P><B>California:</B>  How many homes? the <CITE>Contra Costa Times</CITE> in Walnut Creek asked.  McCain isn t sure. <CITE>The Tribune</CITE> in San Luis Obispo noted the fallout,  Obama quick to pounce on McCain s home gaffe. <P>McCain s stumble and his opponent s reaction opened doors for headline writers. <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE>:  McCain blunder leaves him looking for political shelter. <CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE>:  Candidates sparring hits closer to home. <P><CITE>The New York Times</CITE> noted that the political rivals are  Sparring Over Wealth, Seeking Tie to Voters. The <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis said,   Rich becomes four-letter word on the campaign trail. And from <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> in Portland:  Candidates vie for common-man credential. <P><B>What s not on the front page:</B> Barack Obama s choice for VP. All week, VP stories like the one today from the <CITE>Quad-City Times</CITE> in Davenport, Iowa, have been appearing on front pages.  VP pick a secret, said the <CITE>Post</CITE> in Denver, which hosts the Democratic convention beginning Monday. <P><CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington pictured reporters camped outside the Delaware home of Sen. Joe Biden, often mentioned as a possibility.  Betting on Biden, but no peep on veep. <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> aggregated its coverage in an online <A class=chan href="http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS02/51129004/1006&amp;theme=BIDEN&amp;template=theme" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Joe Biden page</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG>. <P>From Sen. Evan Bayh s home state, <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> summed it up:  Obama s pick: For him to know, us to find out. Obama and his VP choice will appear Saturday in Springfield, Ill. Advised <CITE>The State Journal Register</CITE>:  Be prepared to be patient for Obama. We already have been. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082108"></a> <b>August 21, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Lightning Bolt strikes<BR>in Beijing; storm wallops Fla.</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>A newspaper s mission is to inform, enlighten, entertain and engage. With disaster on the front page, today s priority is to inform. <P>In Florida, where Tropical Storm Fay is about to make its third landfall, <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> broke out numbers as   Catastrophic flooding hit the Space Coast. The newspaper promoted online extras and invited readers to contribute their stories, saying:  Help us keep you informed. <P> Lingering storm drenches coast, <CITE>The Daytona Beach News-Journal</CITE> said. In promoting inside coverage, it added,  Find out what s closed, where to get sandbags and other important information. <P>After first moving through Key West, Fay made landfall near Naples, where the <CITE>Naples Daily News</CITE> paired a state and a local story today, along with a map charting Fay s course. The <CITE>Orlando Sentinel</CITE> tallied rainfall totals. <CITE>The Palm Beach Post</CITE>, which pictured a resident chest-deep in water, promoted the more than 100 additional photos on its Web site and invited readers to submit their pictures. <CITE>Highlands Today</CITE> in Sebring reported the first Fay-related fatality. <P><CITE>USA Today</CITE> noted that the crash of a Spanair plane on Wednesday has  drawn worldwide attention in a time of unprecedented aviation safety improvements. The crash that killed 153 people dominated Spain s front-page news, including on <CITE>El Mundo</CITE> and <CITE>Público</CITE> in Madrid, where the flight originated. <P><CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> of Cleveland devoted much of today s page to the death of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio. <CITE>The Plain Dealer</CITE> was among many news organizations that prematurely reported the death of the Democratic congresswoman from a brain aneurysm Wednesday afternoon. Tubbs Jones family announced her death Wednesday night. <P><B>Today s photo:</B> Usain Bolt of Jamaica set a world record in the 200-meter dash in Beijing, and images of the world s fastest man appeared on many front pages. <CITE>The Times</CITE> of Johannesburg, South Africa, said:  Lightning Bolt Strikes Again. <P><B>Today in history:</B> Aug. 21 marks the 40th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, ending the country s democratic reform movement called the Prague Spring. <CITE>Hospodarske Noviny</CITE> and <CITE>Lidove Noviny</CITE> in Prague marked the anniversary, and <CITE>Mladá Fronta DNES</CITE> reprinted a photo from the time and referred to a special magazine. Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia, and <CITE>SME</CITE> in Bratislava also noted the anniversary in photo and text. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#082008"></a> <b>August 20, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Local Olympians are front-page news</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Emily Hedges</P> <P>The Beijing Olympics are almost two weeks old, and yet, all over America, newspapers are still putting photos and stories from the games on their front pages. Today, let's focus on the "local athlete" angle that many papers are playing up on their front pages. <P>Olympic wrestler  and son of illegal immigrants  Henry Cejudo won gold by defeating Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga. <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> featured Cejudo on the front page, identifying him as a former wrestling champion of Maryvale High School in Phoenix. "Precious Mettle" was the headline for the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> story on Cejudo, who was identified as a Coloradoan here, as he wrestled at a Colorado high school also. <P>Santa Ana, Calif.'s <CITE>Orange County Register</CITE> identified several local female athletes and their accomplishments on the front page under the headline "Women Rule." <CITE>The Advocate</CITE> (Baton Rouge, La.) also had photos of several local athletes in Beijing mentioned on their front page. Not all have been successful, though  Baton Rouge resident Lolo Jones tripped on a hurdle, relinquishing her lead and a gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles  as evidenced by the headline, "Olympic Highs &amp; Lows." <P>Anna Tunnicliffe became the first South Floridian to win a gold medal in Beijing, according to <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE>. (Tunnicliffe was also mentioned in Hampton Roads, Va.'s <CITE>Link</CITE> because she is an Old Dominion graduate.) Another Floridian, Tampa native Damu Cherry, lost her medal bid in the 100-meter hurdles by ".01 Seconds" according to the headline of <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE>. The winner of that 100-meter hurdles race, Dawn Harper, was featured under the headline "Golden Dawn" on the front page of her home state's <CITE>Belleville</CITE> (Ill.) <CITE>News-Democrat</CITE>. <P>Ever hear of Klamath Falls, Ore.? Well, Olympian Ian Dobson has  he's from the area, and his photo and a blurb were put above the nameplate of the local <CITE>Herald and News</CITE> even though he hadn't yet competed at press time. The <CITE>Tulsa</CITE> (Okla.) <CITE>World</CITE> celebrated former University of Oklahoma gymnast Jonathan Horton's silver medal on the horizontal bar, and <CITE>The Salt Lake Tribune</CITE> had a photo of Olympic volleyball player Logan Tom on the front page. Bet she's not often referred to as a "Highland High School graduate" anymore, but she was on her hometown front page. <P>The more well-known Olympians may be front-page news all over the country, and they are front-page staples in their home states as well. Shawn Johnson, Iowa native and face of U.S. gymnastics, won gold on the balance beam and the story was on many Iowa front pages, including the <CITE>Sioux City Journal</CITE>, which also ran a front-page story on how Johnson was inspiring other local gymnasts. The Baltimore native and winner of eight gold medals in Beijing, Michael Phelps, was still on the front page of <CITE>The Examiner</CITE> in Baltimore, and today he was pictured with another local sports hero, Cal Ripken Jr. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:ehedges@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Emily Hedges</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081908"></a> <b>August 19, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Pakistan s Musharraf resigns,<BR>making Page 1 news in many places</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>The thinking person s Big Story today is the downfall of strongman Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and the confusion that may reign, even if briefly, in his place. And that story choice goes for editors and readers who might not be able to pick out Pakistan on an unlabeled map of the world. <P>It s the lead story in <CITE>The New York Times</CITE>   Musharraf out, leaving factions to vie for power; <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE>   Musharraf exits, but uncertainty remains; <CITE>The Washington Times</CITE>   Musharraf leaves doubts; <CITE>USA Today</CITE>   Pakistan s transition could be rocky; and <CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE>   Musharraf resigns, leaving a shaky Pakistan in his wake. <P>Even <CITE>The Herald</CITE> in Miami, where Floridians are worried more about a tropical storm than almost anything else, leads with  Pakistan upheaval clouds future for U.S. <P>Many of the rest of the U.S. dailies pointed up other aspects of the Pakistan story. For <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE>, it s  Musharraf s resignation boosts worries over Pakistan s nuclear arsenal, Taliban, <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> in Portland reports in its off-lead story that  Musharraf resignation puts U.S. in a bind, <CITE>Valley News</CITE> in West Lebanon, N.H., says  Musharraf exit raises new issues, and <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> in Newark, N.J., leads with  Pakistan tiptoes into a cloudy future without Musharraf. <P>The <CITE>Star-Tribune</CITE> in Minneapolis has an unchallengeable off-lead   Pakistan troubles outlast president. The <CITE>Yakima Herald-Republic</CITE> in Washington notes at the bottom of Page One that  Pakistani leader s exit brings new problems, <CITE>The Birmingham News</CITE> in Alabama anchors the bottom of the page with a photo and  Musharraf leaves leadership void, <CITE>Bangor Daily News</CITE> in Maine reports that  Musharraf s exit poses challenges and the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> observes that  Musharraf leaves a nation at crossroads. <CITE>The Press-Enterprise</CITE> in Riverside, Calif., leads with  U.S. faces quandary in Pakistan, and the <CITE>Richmond</CITE> (Va.) <CITE>Times-Dispatch</CITE> notes with photo and story that  Musharraf departs, but problems remain. <P>Other dailies played it straight, such as <CITE>The Bismarck</CITE> (N.D.) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> squaring off  Musharraf resigns, the <CITE>South Bend Tribune</CITE> in Indiana leading with  Musharraf announces resignation, <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix reporting at the top of the page  Pakistan s Musharraf resigns, and the lead headline in <CITE>The Philadelphia Inquirer</CITE>   Pakistan leader, a key ally, resigns. We ll look for the stories about the Pakistan problems later. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081808"></a> <b>August 18, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Asian newspapers play up<BR>Olympics with photos, stories</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Do Asian newspapers care about those Olympic Games in China? Yes, indeed, and not just in China.</P> <P>The <CITE>Borneo Bulletin</CITE> in Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalem (which is a mouthful for a place name), has a Page One photo of swimming champion Michael Phelps and a story reporting  8 out of 8  Phelps phenomenal feat. The off-lead story in <CITE>The Telegraph</CITE> in Calcutta, India, also is about Phelps and here he is the  Eighth wonder of the water world, while <CITE>DNA</CITE> in Mumbai, India, has Phelps  Lucky 8 plus a story asking about  False start in sprint? <CITE>Anandabara Patrika</CITE> in Calcutta, India, offers a photo of the American hero in the water. <P><CITE>The Jakarta Post</CITE> in Indonesia leads with the local win in badminton, <CITE>Asahi Shimbun</CITE> in Tokyo has Olympics photos, while the English edition of the <CITE>Asahi Shimbun</CITE> figures its readers get sports news elsewhere and ignores the Olympics on Page One. <P><CITE>Stars and Stripes</CITE> Pacific edition, published in Tokyo, devotes much of the front page to the Olympics, the <CITE>Star</CITE> in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has a photo of a local badminton star who won a silver medal with a caption about  So near yet so far, while <CITE>The Sun</CITE> in the same city whoops up  King Phelps and his wins. All the Seoul dailies on our Web site have front-page Olympics stories. <P>As for China itself and Hong Kong, much of Page One of <CITE>The Beijing News</CITE> is about Phelps. <CITE>Oriental Morning Post</CITE> in Shanghai plays up a Chinese gold medal winner, <CITE>The Wall Street Journal Asia</CITE> in Hong Kong tells the business community and others that  Phelps seeks gold out of the water, while the <CITE>South China Morning Post</CITE> in Hong Kong makes East and West happy winners with a banner head reporting  Double happiness as history made, noting  8 Phelps sets record for most golds won by an athlete at a single Games and  8 China secures biggest single-day gold medals haul, taking tally to a record. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081508"></a> <b>August 15, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A thousand words, and then some more</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Bridget Gutierrez</P> <P>Imagine how boring your hometown newspaper would look if it were filled only with text. It s the photographs that add life to those black-and-white pages. <P>This week, the Olympics in Beijing have been a visual smorgasbord for photojournalists and a bonanza for newspaper editors looking to liven Page One. <P>Today, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> and <CITE>The Sacramento</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>Bee</CITE> both carry whimsical staff photographs of newly minted gold-medalist Nastia Liukin on the front page. <CITE>The Times</CITE> captures the American gymnast in a mid-air split, while the <CITE>Bee</CITE> catches her in the midst of a back-flip. <P>How does she do that? <P>Other newspapers found fanciful photos closer to home. Photojournalists at <CITE>The Register-Guard</CITE> in Eugene, Ore., <CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE> in Washington and <CITE>The Columbian</CITE> in Vancouver, Wash., turned their lenses to the region s summer heat wave with pictures of, respectively: a 5-year-old fairgoer dousing his head with a cup of cold water; a goggle-eyed swimmer happy to be underwater at the local pool; and a disgruntled toddler who just can t keep her popsicle from melting. <P>Can you feel the heat? <P>Down in Miami, it s not heat but the return of school that s bringing the blues. As <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> shows, those vaccination shots sure do hurt  for both mother and daughter. In Melbourne, <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> goes after another fear: alligators. It s safe to say that picture is as close as you should get to those toothy beasts. <P>Drama ruled the day in Colorado, where a <CITE>Fort Collins Coloradoan</CITE> photograph of a menacing storm looked like a scene from  The Wizard of Oz. But it was the quiet poignancy of a Haitian pastor facing deportation, as depicted in Connecticut s <CITE>Republican-American</CITE>, that really lent credence to the saying: Pictures are worth a thousand words. <P>Sometimes more. <P><EM>Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081408"></a> <b>August 14, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Athletes on Global Stage,<BR>Local Front Pages</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Hicks Wogan</P> <P>The Olympics are maintaining a presence on front pages the world over, but for some newspapers the Summer Games in Beijing are a local news story. <P>The biggest story thus far has been American swimmer Michael Phelps, but with Phelps not racing on Wednesday, what were newspapers to do? Some chose to stand by their man anyway, especially those in his hometown of Baltimore. There, <CITE>The Examiner</CITE> doesn t have a front-page article but notes that  Phelps earns a rest while teasing readers to pages 6 and 7. Meanwhile, <CITE>The Sun</CITE> is running an article about the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, where Phelps, along with female swimmer Katie Hoff, trained. The <CITE>Sun</CITE> calls Baltimore the current  cradle of American swimming. <P>On the other side of the globe, down under the equator, Australians love their swimmers, too. Stephanie Rice, a native of Brisbane, won the 200-meter individual medley for her second gold medal of the Games. Her hometown paper, <CITE>The Courier-Mail</CITE>, heralds her success today with a full-page photo and a headline that notes Rice is  Twice as Nice. <P>American beach-volleyball duo Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor have won so much in recent years  their undefeated streak stands at 104 matches, including their latest win over a pair of Norwegians  that it s hardly news anymore. Both women grew up on California s Pacific Coast, but most local front pages passed on them. An exception: the <CITE>Press-Telegram</CITE> in Long Beach, which is very near May-Treanor s home community of Costa Mesa and which uses a front-page corner to refer readers to the sports section. <P>Also yesterday was the men s all-around gymnastics championship, where American Jonathan Horton finished ninth. The <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> shows  Jonathan Horton of Houston competing on the pommel horse. Taking the gold was China s Yang Wei. He lives in Beijing, but <CITE>The Beijing News</CITE> still seems to be celebrating, with six front-page photos, the Chinese women s team victory from the night before last. <P>In Iowa, papers are looking not to the past, but the future. <CITE>The Gazette</CITE> in Cedar Rapids previews the women s all-around gymnastics final, slated to air tonight on NBC. Iowan Shawn Johnson, whom <CITE>The Gazette</CITE> refers to as  Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, is headlining both the event final and the front page. The <CITE>Times-Republican</CITE> in Marshalltown, Iowa, has a big photo of the petite Johnson and a story on poll results that show 55 percent of Americans approve of China s hosting the Games this year, despite the country s human-rights issues. <P>And many newspapers, it seems, approve of the Olympics stories. <P><EM>Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081308"></a> <b>August 13, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Phelps collects more gold;<BR>ceasefire promised in Georgia</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Battles in Asia and Europe continued to monopolize front-page photos and stories. <P>From Europe came news of a brokered Russia-Georgia truce even as fighting and troop movement continued. <CITE>The Guardian</CITE> of London illustrated the tone of the ceasefire in its headline:  Surrender, or else, Russia tells Georgia. <P>From Asia came news of swimmer Michael Phelps continued battle for a record eight gold medals in one Olympics.  More records fall in Phelps wake, <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> said over a stand-alone photo of Phelps, who won his fourth and fifth gold medals in Beijing  his 10th and 11th career gold medals. <P><CITE>The Kansas City</CITE> (Mo.) <CITE>Star</CITE> was among U.S. newspapers that included both Georgia fighting and the Olympics on their front pages.  Cease-fire message: Russia is boss again, the <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis said in an off-lead. Its centerpiece:  Phelps has most golds ever; U.S. gymnasts capture silver. <CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE> in Newark, N.J., labeled its Olympic centerpiece  The Unstoppable Mr. Phelps and said lower on the page,  Russia agrees to halt military action in Georgia. <P>In a sign of the significance of the Russia-Georgia story, the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> published three related stories on its front page, including:  U.S. experts say Russia s goal in the Georgia battle has been to lay claim to a sphere of influence. Said the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE>:  Russia-Georgia clash leaves lasting damage. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> reported a cyberwar against Georgia that coincided with the Russian assault on the former Soviet country. <P>Three journalists have been reported killed covering the fighting. In the Netherlands, <CITE>DAG</CITE> in Amsterdam and AD in Rotterdam pictured Stan Storimans, an RTL television cameraman, who was reportedly killed in the bombing. <P>The <CITE>Toronto Star</CITE> called Beijing  The Olympics of Illusion after accusations of lip-synching and fake fireworks marred what was considered a fantastic opening ceremony. In this age of fake, the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> had its culture critic survey the reaction to the lip-synching of the unofficial Chinese anthem by a girl  prettier than the singer:  Oh well, whatever, never mind. <P>With world records being smashed, the <CITE>Orlando</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Sentinel</CITE> looked at the new Speedo suit and asked:  Is it the swimmer or suit? Dave Barry suggested on <CITE>The Miami Herald s</CITE> front page that the solution to the U.S.-China medal rivalry might be beer pong:  We would KILL China in beer pong. And from South Africa, <CITE>The Times</CITE> pictured a beach volleyball player  Kicking butt.  Yes, it is a sport, <CITE>The Times</CITE> noted about beach volleyball. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081208"></a> <b>August 12, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Russian invasion of Georgia<BR>continues to dominate coverage</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Russia s invasion of the democratically inclined former Soviet republic, now the independent country of Georgia, continues to dominate the news. This is not the first time Russia has used force to end democratization. Indeed, 40 years ago this month, on August 20, 1968, tanks of the Soviet Union and some of its Warsaw Pact allies crushed Czechoslovakia s 200-day effort to democratize communism, to offer  socialism with a human face. The Prague Spring was over. <P>Although early morning news reports today state that Russia is halting military action, it isn t clear whether Russian troops will withdraw. After all, those troops have been told to  destroy any  hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions. Those reports didn t make the morning newspapers, and we thought we would focus on European coverage. <P><CITE>Der Standard</CITE> in Vienna, Austria, leads with  Open controversy between USA and Russia about the fighting while featuring a photo of the Georgian president being protected when a Russian military helicopter appeared over the capital  a photo that several newspapers used. <CITE>De Morgen</CITE> in Brussels, Belgium, tops Page One with a photo of Russian soldiers in Georgia, and the European edition of <CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE>, published in Brussels, leads with a three-column headline reporting  As Russia pushes deeper, Georgia appeals for help. <P><CITE>Dnevnik Daily</CITE> in Sofia, Bulgaria, has a large war photo at the bottom of the page, while <CITE>Lidove Noviny</CITE> in Prague, Czech Republic, has its war story and the photo of the Georgian president being protected. Three other Prague dailies  <CITE>Mlada Fronta Dnes</CITE>, <CITE>Denik</CITE> and <CITE>Hospodarske Noviny</CITE>  also give Page One play to the fighting. <P><CITE>Aripaev</CITE> in Tallinn, Estonia, has a big Page One picture of the Russian leaders to top their coverage, and the situation gets major play in <CITE>La Tribune</CITE> in Paris. <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel</CITE> in Berlin reports on  Russian troops near Georgia s capital," <CITE>To Vima</CITE> in Athens has an army action shot anchoring the front page, <CITE>La Stampa</CITE> in Torino, Italy, banners  The Russians smash in, while <CITE>AD</CITE> in Rotterdam, Netherlands, devotes most of the front page to war coverage, with photo and story. <P>In Poland, <CITE>Dziennik Polski</CITE> in Krakow and <CITE>Dziennik Lodzi</CITE> in Lodz play up the fighting. <CITE>Jurnal Aradean</CITE> in Arad, Romania, has a protest photo with someone carrying a poster reading, in English,  Stop the war in Georgia, which seems appropriate since Romania did not participate in the Czechoslovak invasion mentioned earlier. <CITE>Moskovskaya Pravda</CITE> in Moscow plays up the war, but we can t read Cyrillic, which is probably just as well. <CITE>Danas</CITE> in Belgrade, Serbia, leads with the war and uses the Georgian president photo. <P>Finally, <CITE>The Guardian</CITE> in London banners  Russians march into Georgia, which sounds like a take-off of the U.S. Civil War song  Marching through Georgia, the state, not the country. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#081108"></a> <b>August 11, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Russian invasion of little Georgia<br>is news here, there and everywhere</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>An undeclared war that will have no winners is Page One news here, there and almost everywhere. Pro-western President Saakashvili of Georgia said he was going to regain control of the tiny separatist region of South Ossetia, where many, if not most, of the people carry Russian passports. Do that and it will mean war, Russia warned. Georgia moved and so did Russia. Georgia, about the size of West Virginia with almost three times the population, is at war. The million-man-plus Russian army moved against the 37,000-man Georgian army. Russia seems to have lost the public- and international-relations battle; Saakashvili may lose his job as part of the price of peace. And another would-be separatist enclave in Georgia, Abkhazia, is in the mix. <P>We find that <CITE>The Birmingham</CITE> (Ala.) <CITE>News</CITE> reports,  Russia bares teeth in Georgia as blitz expands on land, sea. <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix squares off  Russia turns up heat on Georgia, and the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat Gazette</CITE> in Little Rock leads with  Russia advances into Georgia, while the <CITE>Daily News</CITE> in Los Angeles tops the page with  Thousands fleeing Georgia. The <CITE>Iowa City Press-Citizen</CITE> in Iowa reports  Bush: Violence unacceptable as he raps Russia, and the <CITE>Rochester Democrat and Chronicle</CITE> in upstate New York says,  Russia expands military action. <CITE>The Bismarck Tribune</CITE> in North Dakota reports,  Russia expands fight in Georgia, the <CITE>San Antonio Express-News</CITE> in Texas notes that  Russia ignores pleas for cease-fire and <CITE>The Columbian</CITE> in Vancouver, Wash., tells its readers that  Russia escalates blitz in Georgia. And that s the way it goes. <P>In Europe, closer to the action, <CITE>Die Presse</CITE> in Vienna, Austria, squares off at the top of Page One  Chain reaction in the Caucasus, the <CITE>Suddeutsche Zeitung</CITE> in Munich, Germany, plays up  Russia bombs Georgia, and <CITE>Trouw</CITE> in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, uses a similar headline. The story gets heavy Page One play in <CITE>Lidove Noviny</CITE> in Prague, Czech Republic, in <CITE>De Morgen</CITE>, Brussels, Belgium, in <CITE>Corriere della Sera</CITE>, in Milan, Italy, in <CITE>Nepszabadsag</CITE> in Budapest, Hungary, in <CITE>Gazeta Wyborcza</CITE> in Warsaw, Poland, in <CITE>Dagens Nyheter</CITE> in Stockholm, Sweden, in <CITE>Jurnal de Caras-Severin</CITE> in Resita, Romania, and in <CITE>El Mundo</CITE>, in Madrid, Spain. <CITE>The Daily Telegraph</CITE> in London puts a more frightening headline on its top story:  Thousands flee as Russia  starts ethnic cleansing.  <P>It s a story that will be with us for a while, taking some of the glint off the Olympics coverage. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080808"></a> <b>August 8, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>It s show time for China,<BR>Beijing  and front pages </SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> Let the games begin! <CITE>The Bakersfield Californian</CITE> pronounced. <P> Our Olympic Dawn appeared in a photo illustration on the <CITE>South China Morning Post</CITE> in Hong Kong. From Jakarta to Brussels to Johannesburg, images and stories in advance of today s opening ceremony made front-page news. <P> First day, <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> said, adding:  The Olympic Games begin today, and Beijing is hoping they will stay free of pollution, protests and drugs. <P>All eyes are on China, host of the Summer Games. <CITE>USA Today</CITE> reported on an East-West rivalry for gold, and <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> said:  China will be flexing muscle of its emerging Olympic sports power. Said <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE>:  China, embracing both tradition and change, is looking for victory. <P>Beyond athletics, front pages are reporting on Beijing, the capital city, and Chinese culture.  Old parts of Beijing  dirt, not dignitaries/20 minutes and a million miles from Olympic glory, the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> said about a Beijing neighborhood. <CITE>The Cincinnati Enquirer</CITE> is following the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra as it plays two concerts at the games. <P><CITE>The Forum</CITE> of Fargo, N.D., produced a magazine-style at-a-glance of the games. Some front pages referred to TV coverage. <CITE>The Patriot-News</CITE> in Harrisburg, Pa., broke out helpful information and said:  Viewers, get your remotes ready. <CITE>The Californian</CITE> tried to prevent confusion by charting the time difference between Bakersfield and Beijing. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE>, <CITE>Boston Globe</CITE>, <CITE>Miami Herald</CITE>, <CITE>Denver Post</CITE> and others include Olympics special sections in today s newspaper. Other newspapers offer extensive coverage inside, including <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> with its full-page viewer s guide. <P>Another history-making story took over front pages in Detroit, where the mayor spent last night in jail after violating the terms of his bond.  Jailed mayor set to face new felony, said the <CITE>Free Press</CITE>, noting Kwame Kilpatrick is the first mayor in the city s history to spend a night behind bars. Both Detroit newspapers printed columns on their front pages.  Cuffing, escorting mayor to jail a sad duty, the <CITE>Free Press</CITE> said. From <CITE>The News</CITE>:  A Tragic Day for Detroit. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080708"></a> <b>August 7, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Reports dig into case<BR>against anthrax scientist</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>Reporting is about answering questions, but the country s largest newspapers said today that questions lingered in the case against a government scientist accused in the 2001 anthrax attacks. <P> Officials Detail Evidence, but Questions Linger, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> said in its lead story. <CITE>USA Today</CITE> devoted its cover story to the accusations against Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide:  Questions linger as feds say Ivins was lone killer. <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> reported: FBI  Cites Signs of Bizarre Behavior; Skeptics Remain. <P>The <CITE>Argus Leader</CITE> in Sioux Falls, S.D., noted that anthrax had been mailed to the office of its U.S. senator, exposing employees.  Sioux Falls native, victim wants briefing on investigation, the <CITE>Argus</CITE> said. Anthrax also was mailed to Florida, where <CITE>The Palm Beach Post</CITE> used as its headline:  Scientist mailed anthrax, feds say. <P>In a sidebar, <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> said:  Acquaintances and Counselor Recall the Scientist s Dark Side. Details about the scientist s unusual behavior and circumstantial evidence gave a sensational tone to the story. The <CITE>Omaha</CITE> (Neb.) <CITE>World-Herald</CITE> labeled its package  Delusional and deadly. From the ever-flamboyant <CITE>New York Post</CITE>:  Dr. Doom s descent into madness. <P>The number eight was drawn on the <CITE>San Francisco Chronicle</CITE> to illustrate tomorrow s lucky day:  Lucky 8/8/08  believers to wed on auspicious day. In nearby San Jose, the <CITE>Mercury News</CITE> used Olympic rings to form  8 8 8 for a package on the Olympics and the  Power of 8 :  Asia s lucky number has inspired China to start the Games at 8:08 p.m., 8/8/08. <P>But there was no luck for Favre fans in Wisconsin, as the Packers traded star quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets.  Jets Get Brett, the <CITE>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</CITE> said. A sad day in Green Bay was greeted by a black front page, as the <CITE>Press-Gazette</CITE> used a black background to set off a photo of the longtime Packer and a single story. In Packer green, <CITE>The Reporter</CITE> in Fond du Lac said:  He s gone. The <CITE>Hattiesburg American</CITE> pictured Favre as he returned to his Mississippi hometown. From Favre s new workplace, metro New York, the <CITE>Daily News</CITE> declared:  Gang Green trades draft pick for QB legend. <P>Serving a military community, <CITE>The News Tribune</CITE> of Tacoma, Wash., often reports on the war on terror. Today, the  War on Chafing appears on its front page, as a local mail carrier  vows to push for kilts as Postal Service uniforms. <CITE>The News Tribune</CITE> pictured the postman who  thinks outside of inseams. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080608"></a> <b>August 6, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A stream of water woes<BR>makes Page One news</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>Water, water everywhere & including today s front-page headlines. <P>Earth s most precious resource gets the spotlight from all angles.  The second coming of desalination? headlines a <CITE>Santa Barbara</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>News-Press</CITE> story about the reopening of a facility that treats saltwater during droughts. More water-shortage news can be found in <CITE>The News and Advance</CITE> (Lynchburg, Va.), which writes,  City taps James River for water. The <CITE>Herald-Journal</CITE> (Spartanburg, S.C.) goes with the headline,  Cutbacks, restrictions help curb water usage. <P>Don t mention water shortages to anyone in Texas, where residents have been hit by Tropical Storm Edouard.  A Good Soaker is how the <CITE>San Antonio Express-News</CITE> succinctly sums up its weather woes. <P>Water cleanliness is the topic in Rochester, N.Y.  Beach lovers don t let water issues cloud fun, headlines a <CITE>Democrat and Chronicle</CITE> story about how locals are finding alternatives to swimming in algae-infested waters. <P>During the summer, it s required by law that newspapers run at least one picture of an adorable child frolicking in water. <CITE>The Sentinel-Record</CITE> (Hot Springs, Ark.) fulfills its obligation with a shot of a 3-year-old boy in Lake Hamilton. The headline:  Splish, splash. Awww. <P>Tuesday was primary day in some parts of the country, including Missouri, Kansas, Georgia and Michigan. One of the more watched races was in Detroit, where Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., was running in a three-way Democratic primary.  Rep. Kilpatrick claims victory in tight race, reads the bold headline in <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE>, which noted that the primary was  as much about her scandal-plagued son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, as her own six terms in Congress. <P>Meanwhile, <CITE>The Hutchinson</CITE> (Kan.) <CITE>News</CITE> devotes its entire front page to results from its county commission primary with massive head shots of the winners that would make even the most bigheaded politician blush. <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080508"></a> <b>August 5, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Weather is Page One news<BR>again in some parts of U.S.</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>With apologies to Oscar Wilde, who claimed that  Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative, we have weather today  in Illinois, Texas and Louisiana. <P>Two front pages play up Illinois storms. The <CITE>Daily Herald</CITE> in suburban Chicago offers a big photo of a lightning strike  one might call it a striking picture but we won t  and a report that  Storms rake area. The <CITE>Daily Chronicle</CITE> in DeKalb leads with  County hit by powerful wind storm. <P>In Texas, some coastal areas are bracing for Tropical Storm Edouard and that made Page One across the state. The <CITE>Amarillo Globe-News</CITE> reports  Texas coast braces for Edouard, the <CITE>Austin American-Statesman</CITE> warns  Edouard deluge on way, <CITE>The Beaumont Enterprise</CITE> says  Edouard inbound, and the <CITE>Corpus Christi Caller Times</CITE> explains in its lead headline  Storm builds, should arrive this morning. The <CITE>Galveston County Daily News</CITE> tells us  Edouard churns, the <CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE> leads with  Texas coast boards up as Edouard bears down, and the <CITE>Victoria Advocate</CITE> squares off at the top of Page One  Local hospitals ready for storms. That s just a sampling but the message is clear. <P>Meanwhile, in Louisiana, <CITE>The Advocate</CITE> in Baton Rouge warns in a five-column headline  Edouard could hit today, <CITE>The Daily Advertiser</CITE> in Lafayette banners  Coast preps for storm, and <CITE>The Times</CITE> in Shreveport uses much of the front page to warn  Edouard set to make landfall. <CITE>The Times-Picayune</CITE> in New Orleans has a box above the nameplate reporting  Texas and LA. coasts brace for Edouard, with details inside. <CITE>The Town Talk</CITE> in Alexandria uses a different approach, with a story about  Edouard on minds of World Series teams from coastal areas. <P>We confess that we didn t read any of the stories, ever mindful of Mark Twain s unproven claim that  Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080408"></a> <b>August 4, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A big day for local news<BR>for many U.S. newspapers</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>All news is local, especially on a Monday morning. We have an upcoming presidential election, the Olympics soon will start and the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn died yesterday. But for many U.S. dailies, it s a local story  feature or news  that makes a big Page One splash today. <P>For <CITE>The Arizona Republic</CITE> in Phoenix it s  Stealing steel, with pictures, about how thieves are going for storm grates and manhole covers. For the <CITE>Opelika-Auburn News</CITE> in Alabama, the big Page One feature is about  Barbers share time, talent to give free haircuts, while the <CITE>Oakland Tribune</CITE> in California leads with  Berkeley arts center seeks cash. <P>The two dailies in Denver  the <CITE>Rocky Mountain News</CITE> and <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE>  lead with a house fire killing three. The <CITE>Hartford Courant</CITE> in Connecticut leads with Solzhenitsyn but the big play is about a 12-year-old battling for college admission with  Brains beyond his years. <CITE>The Miami Herald</CITE> leads with its investigation of how  Clinics make mint on fake HIV treatment, and the <CITE>Ledger-Enquirer</CITE> in Columbus, Ga., gives over more than half of its front page to the national economic downturn and rising local unemployment with a banner headline reporting  Hope amid anxiety. <P>For the <CITE>South Bend Tribune</CITE> in Indiana, major play, with three photos, is about an area mayor who managed to lose 80 pounds, while the <CITE>Sioux City Journal</CITE> in Iowa warns its readers that  It will be another hot one today but not as bad as Sunday. <CITE>American Press</CITE> in Lake Charles, La., also plays up the weather, with a banner sure to attract attention:  SW La. on hurricane watch, even as <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE> squares off  A grim forecast for heating costs. <P><CITE>The Mississippi Press</CITE> in Pascagoula squares off the killing of a former police chief, while the <CITE>Times Herald-Record</CITE> in Middletown, N.Y., gives over Page One to a local hero, about  State trooper s actions during floods become legend. The <CITE>Las Vegas Review-Journal</CITE> plays up an election story, but this is about Regular Joe making a run for the state Senate. Our friends at <CITE>The Monitor</CITE> in McAllen, Texas, have many local stories with the biggest play given to  More people are getting health care  but is the program legal? <P>The prize goes to <CITE>The State</CITE> in Columbia, S.C., with a headline that tops and includes the nameplate, telling all that  If it sold stock, USC football would be the state s 19th-largest publicly traded company. <P>But when we get home, we re going to drink a toast on this 273rd anniversary of the first major, successful free-press trial verdict in this country. Here s to John Peter Zenger! <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#080108"></a> <b>August 1, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>In health news, promises<BR>of an antidote to exercise</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>What better than a lazy summer day to consider exercise in a pill? <P> Rejoice, couch potatoes! It s exercise in a pill, announced <CITE>The News &amp; Observer</CITE> in Raleigh, N.C. <P>The news that mice given an experimental drug turned into marathoners originated with researchers in California, and <CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune</CITE> devoted its centerpiece to  Endurance lift without lifting. <CITE>The Oregonian</CITE> of Portland pictured a mouse and said:  Fat-burning drug works on mice, but could it fight obesity? <P>Other headlines also focused on humans.  Just too lazy to work out? Then this pill is made for you, <CITE>The Providence</CITE> (R.I.) <CITE>Journal</CITE> said. <P>It s a week to the Summer Games in Beijing, and many large newspapers have begun their countdown.  Politics muscle in on Olympics, <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> said in a historical look at the games. The <CITE>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</CITE> reported that grammar police are out in force in China, cracking down on Chinglish, the mistranslation of English on street signs and T-shirts. <P>Today is the one-year anniversary of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minnesota. The <CITE>Star Tribune</CITE> of Minneapolis published an anniversary pullout section, and the <CITE>St. Paul Pioneer Press</CITE> used  recovery as an art headline. Newspapers across the country have run stories this week examining the state of infrastructure. In a package with photos and references to online content, <CITE>The Forum</CITE> in neighboring Fargo, N.D., said:  Funding crisis disrupts need to monitor or repair bridges. <P>The Twin Cities newspapers also did extensive coverage of a corporate plane crash Thursday that killed eight.  Death in a cornfield, the <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE> said. <P>News organizations this morning are following a report by the <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> that a top government scientist, who was about to be charged in the 2001 anthrax attacks, has died of an apparent suicide. The story led today s <CITE>Times</CITE>. <P>And on a day when many focused on  race card accusations in the presidential race, the <CITE>Rochester</CITE> (N.Y.) <CITE>Democrat and Chronicle</CITE> gave us good ol mom. When it comes to the campaign messages of Obama and McCain,  Mom s the word, the newspaper said. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#073108"></a> <b>July 31, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>When it comes to the front page,<BR>food stories get a piece of the pie</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>Front-page editors across the country must have skipped lunch yesterday, judging from the many mouth-watering lead stories that appear in today s newspapers. <P> Pie Champ in today s <CITE>Carroll County Times</CITE> (Westminster, Md.) headlines a story about a 10-year-old boy whose blueberry-peach pie won the top prize at a local 4H fair. Blueberries get more love from the <CITE>Connecticut Post</CITE>, which features a picture of an adorable 3-year-old girl scarfing them down at a local farm (before paying for them, we might add  tsk tsk). <P>In other fair-related food-contest news, the headline in <CITE>The Vindicator</CITE> (Youngstown, Ohio) blares  Victory is Sweet for a story about the winner of an ice cream-eating contest. (No word on the inevitable ice cream headache that surely followed.) <P>The <CITE>Wisconsin State Journal</CITE> leads with  Tasty Research at  Candy Camp,  which details candy-industry professionals annual trip to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study the art and science behind candy making. Nice work if you can get it. <P>Moving on to seafood, the <CITE>South Florida Sun-Sentinel</CITE> (Fort Lauderdale) goes with the headline  Snapping Them Up for an article about the beginning of lobster season in Florida. This story, though, is tinged with tragedy by the death of two lobster trappers. <P>Way up north, the <CITE>Portland</CITE> (Maine) <CITE>Press-Herald</CITE> leads with  Lobster is plentiful, but diners aren t, which reports that the high price of the crustacean is keeping people from strapping on the lobster bibs. <P>You ll need to wash down all this delicious food somehow, right? Too bad some of us missed  Mug Root Beer Float Day at the Oakland A s game, chronicled in the <CITE>Oakland Tribune</CITE> with the clever headline,  Root, Root, Root Beer for the Home Team. <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#073008"></a> <b>July 30, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Alaskan s indictment,<BR>Alzheimer s drug top news</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Patty Rhule</P> <P>From Alaska to Hawaii to Florida, the indictment of the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator was front-page news. <P>Senators don t get indicted every day; <CITE>The Daytona Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>News-Journal</CITE> offered an Associated Press sidebar listing other senators who have suffered the same fate as Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. <P>The <CITE>Anchorage Daily News</CITE> dedicated its entire front page to the story, with pieces on  What it means for the Senate race and  An Alaska Icon with our favorite subhead,  Whether pork or gravy, he brought billions of dollars to Alaska. <P>Stevens faces re-election in November, and <CITE>USA Today</CITE> doesn t go very far out on a limb with its headline  Senator s indictment may hurt GOP. <P> Friend s gifts could be Stevens downfall, explained <CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE>. <P><CITE>The Honolulu Advertiser</CITE> offered a local angle on how the indictment could affect Hawaii s Sen. Daniel Inouye with  Indictment of Senate ally won t kill Inouye s clout. <P>Back in the continental United States, a reader of New York s <CITE>Hoy</CITE> need not understand Spanish to know that  Alarma is not good news atop a photo of a sober New York Gov. David Paterson, detailing the state s budget crisis. <P>A potential breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer s disease topped the news in the <CITE>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</CITE>, which used an Associated Press graphic to show how the disease attacks nerve cells. <P>A historic moment in Congress got lead-story treatment in Memphis, Tenn. s <CITE>Commercial Appeal</CITE> with  Slavery apology clears House. <P>Packaging the news in a way that intrigues the time-pressed reader is an art and <CITE>The Examiner  Baltimore</CITE> wins today s award with a photo of a rosary hanging from a mailbox, with an inset of a laughing family of four and the headline  Shrink says family was DEEPLY DISTURBED. <P>A close runner-up was the <CITE>Wyoming Tribune-Eagle</CITE> in Cheyenne, with a photo of a computer keyboard and the headline  The toilet is probably cleaner than your keyboard. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:prhule@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Patty Rhule</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072908"></a> <b>July 29, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>What does half-a-trillion dollars<BR>really mean to you and yours?</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>How much is half- a-trillion dollars? That s what many dailies are telling their readers about where the U.S. budget deficit is headed. We were hoping that at least one newspaper would tell us that  if you stacked half a trillion dollar bills (or put them end to end, they would stretch from here to there, or  every man, woman and child in the country will be in hock XXX dollars next year. The story is there but not the  what it all means. <P><CITE>The Birmingham News</CITE> in Alabama leads with a simple  U.S. deficit estimated to pass half-trillion, the <CITE>Dispatch</CITE> in Casa Grande, Ariz., hits its readers with the head  Further in the red by putting RED in second-coming type size caps and in red ink, while the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat Gazette</CITE> in Little Rock leads with a sedate  Deficit forecast hits $482 billion. <CITE>The Herald</CITE> in Monterey, Calif., tacks it on the administration with the lead head  Bush to leave office with record deficit, <CITE>The Gazette</CITE> in Colorado Springs, Colo., spreads the story across the top of Page One with a story proclaiming that  Federal deficit will hit a record $482 billion plus a graph showing surplus and deficit years while <CITE>The Day</CITE> in New London, Conn., does something similar with  Deficit nears half-trillion dollars plus that same graph. <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., looks ahead with  Record deficit to greet next President, <CITE>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</CITE> makes it sound awful with the head at the bottom of the page about   09 budget deficit is record, and it could get even worse, and <CITE>The Lewiston Tribune</CITE> out in Idaho, leads with  U.S. deficit approaches half-trillion. It s the off-lead story in the <CITE>Daily Chronicle</CITE> in DeKalb, Ill., with a simple  Budget deficit growing, <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> offers a bottom-of-the-page  U.S. deficit expected to hit record $482B in 2009, while the <CITE>St. Joseph News-Press</CITE> in Missouri tells its readers in its off-lead that  Record budget deficit looms. The <CITE>Lincoln Journal Star</CITE> in Nebraska whoops it up with  U.S. deficit skyrockets, the <CITE>Billings Gazette</CITE> in Montana says the deficit is  zooming and <CITE>The Post-Standard</CITE> in Syracuse, N.Y., says the next president faces  sobering reality. <P>Then we looked <CITE>at The Forum</CITE> out in Fargo, N.D., and smiled. That deficit is worth 482 billion cheeseburgers, or 135 billion gallons of gasoline, amounts to $1,581.79 per U.S. resident  and more. Thank you, <CITE>Forum</CITE> folks, the deficit story also is worth today s blue ribbon or gold star, your choice. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072808"></a> <b>July 28, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A lesson in filling Page One</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Bridget Gutierrez</P> <P>Monday is always a tough day to fill the front page, particularly when there s no breaking news to report. One trick editors sometimes use is the centerpiece, a grouping of articles, photographs and graphics usually (but not always) put in the center of the page. <P>Because the centerpiece visually dominates Page One, editors often use the technique to highlight special projects or interesting features. Today, in San Luis Obispo, Calif., <CITE>The Tribune</CITE> couples two articles and two photographs into  An old seadog s new tricks, the second installment of a three-day series on how local fishermen are trying to survive in a dying industry. Similarly, Nevada s <CITE>Reno Gazette-Journal</CITE> pairs stories and photographs in an examination of the cases of two girls who went missing three decades apart. <P> A mother, a boxer, now a headliner, practically jumps off the front page of the <CITE>Rochester Democrat and Chronicle</CITE> in New York. A thick black line boxes in the article and photographs about a determined mother who will make sports history this week as headliner in the city s first major female boxing bout. <P>Graphics often are a central part of centerpieces. <CITE>The Tampa</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Tribune s</CITE> take on scattered summertime showers packages maps, numbers, pictures and very little copy in a hold-to-the-front piece. Likewise, the <CITE>Ledger-Enquirer</CITE> in Columbus, Ga., keeps it short in an update on local construction projects. But  So, when will that be done? follows a more traditional format of mixing photographs and text. <P>Front-page designers at <CITE>The News Journal</CITE> in Wilmington, Del., cleverly graft a series of numbers and meeting information onto a centerpiece photo to go with a story about how local Hispanics are faring in the tough economy. Readers perusing centerpiece graphics in Nebraska s <CITE>Lincoln Journal Star</CITE> learn motorcycle owners are getting older but not necessarily wiser when it comes to safety. And <CITE>Florida Today</CITE> in Melbourne colorfully and creatively displays where all the money goes from those popular animal-themed license plates. <P>When all other news fails to make the centerpiece cut, editors go for the stand-alone photograph. After all, what reader could resist the graceful Olympian (<CITE>Houston Chronicle</CITE>), a screaming Bruce  The Boss Springsteen (<CITE>The Star-Ledger</CITE>, Newark, N.J.), or good ole Goose Gossage wiping a tear during his induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (<CITE>The Gazette</CITE>, Colorado Springs, Colo.)? <P>Emotion gets  em every time. <P><EM>Bridget Gutierrez is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072508"></a> <b>July 25, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>477 miles, 7 days, 2 wheels<BR>and one statewide story</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P><B>NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa  </B> <CITE>The Des Moines Register</CITE> is peddling its newspaper to tens of thousands who are pedaling across the Hawkeye State this week. <P>A special edition of the <CITE>Register</CITE> is being distributed free to participants in the <CITE>Register s</CITE> Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. RAGBRAI lures bicyclists from far and near to ride more than 450 miles from west to east across Iowa. <P>The tour, the  longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world, is chronicled in detail by the <CITE>Register</CITE>, the sponsor, and other Iowa newspapers. <P>Twenty-eight <CITE>Register</CITE> staffers  including editorial cartoonist Brian Duffy  have been involved in RAGBRAI coverage this week, said Carolyn Washburn, editor. The daily special edition, offered to bikers staying in campgrounds and inserted into single-copy papers, includes maps, photos and details about the eight communities that serve as stops along the route. Several pages of coverage are being included in the regular newspaper. <P> This and the state fair are two enormous, charming community gatherings that involve the whole state in the summer, Washburn said. <P>From western Iowa, the <CITE>Sioux City Journal</CITE> on Tuesday wrote about where RAGBRAI is not  its county  the result of a lawsuit over a death in an earlier ride. From central Iowa, the <CITE>Press-Citizen</CITE> of Iowa City, which incorporated a bicyclist into its nameplate, has had front-page coverage each day. The <CITE>Times-Republican</CITE> in Marshalltown focused most of its coverage on Wednesday s stop in its county, and today s <CITE>Gazette</CITE> from Cedar Rapids looked at Thursday s 76-mile stretch. <P>As riders reach eastern Iowa, the story is headed for the <CITE>Quad-City Times</CITE> in Davenport. One of the newspaper s reporters will be riding with colleagues positioned at the start and end of the 53-mile last leg. <P>Other journalists also are getting into the story by riding along. At a time when war, economic troubles and other tensions are in the news, Washburn said, it s especially important to say,  Let s all have fun. <P>Duffy, a biking enthusiast, is blogging from behind the handle bars, and the <A class=chan href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ragbrai&template=landing" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG><CITE>Register s</CITE> Web site</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> includes other creative content  from a  shoutout feature to an interactive quiz to historical pictures. An <A class=chan href="http://data.desmoinesregister.com/ragbrai08/current/ragbrai08route.php" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>interactive map</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> helps riders plan their route. Riders can post comments and photos. <P>Coverage of the tour, Washburn said,  highlights and validates and showcases those small communities across the state that welcome riders. She said she believed that a newspaper should challenge and celebrate its community.  This is one of those moments you can unabashedly celebrate the community. <P><B>A tour of his own:</B> Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of approximately 200,000 people Thursday at a stop in Berlin.  In Berlin, a call to renew bonds, the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> said. Proclaimed the <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE>:  Wunderbar! A number of papers used a photo showing the presidential candidate before the large crowd, and Obama was on Page One across Germany. <CITE>The Denver Post</CITE> printed the photo the width of its page and compared Obama s speech to other notable speeches given in Berlin. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072408"></a> <b>July 24, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Barack Obama is news in Berlin<BR>but not yet in all of Germany</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>Barack Obama in Berlin is a Berlin story but it s not necessarily an all-German story, according to today s front pages on our Web site. Perhaps tomorrow, but here s what it looks like today. <P>In Berlin, <CITE>Der Tagesspiegel</CITE> gives over most of Page One to the visit, with a story proclaiming that  Berlin has high expectations of Obama plus a commentary about the visit, while <CITE>die tageszeitung</CITE> fills Page One with a cartoon hero Obama as a sort of superman and the words  Come down! and <CITE>Die Welt</CITE> is more sedate, referring to the meeting with the German chancellor in a story about her. In nearby Potsdam, the <CITE>Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten</CITE> has a top-of-the-page piece about the high expectations for Obama. <P>As for the rest of Germany, the <CITE>Braunschweiger Zeitung</CITE> in Braunschweig and the <CITE>Wolfsburger Nachrichten</CITE> in Wolfsburg  basically the same dailies with different nameplates  carry a story at the bottom of Page One about  A reception as for a pop star, while the <CITE>Neue Westfaelische</CITE> in Bielefeld has large color photo of a smiling chancellor with a reference to the Lehar operetta  The Land of Smiles and a caption noting her meeting today with Obama. The <CITE>Sueddeutsche Zeitung</CITE> in Munich has a story about  Tens of thousands want to experience Obama, while the <CITE>Suedwest Presse</CITE> in Ulm and the <CITE>Nuernberger Nachrichten</CITE> in Nuremberg have shorter stories about the visit, even as the <CITE>Financial Times Deutschland</CITE> in Hamburg teases an inside piece about the meeting of Obama and the chancellor. <P>For the rest of our newspapers in Germany, the upcoming visit doesn t rate front page coverage. Indeed, even the European edition of the newspaper for the American troops, <CITE>Stars and Stripes</CITE>, published in Griesheim, has nothing out front about the visit, playing up the 60th anniversary of the integration of the armed forces. The <CITE>Fuldaer Zeitung</CITE> in Fulda uses the top of Page One to play up a meeting in Denmark about Christmas to come  complete with a photo of a bunch of Santa Clauses and a banner in English proclaiming  Merry Christmas while the <CITE>Weser Kurier</CITE> and the <CITE>Bremer Nachrichten</CITE>, both in Bremen, attract some attention with an unusual, big photo of six young storks standing up in their nest. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072308"></a> <b>July 23, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Hello, Dolly!</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Hicks Wogan</P> <P>Hurricane Dolly is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico. A Category One storm as of yesterday, Dolly is expected to make landfall today near the Texas/Mexico border. In the process the storm is making front-page news. <P>Let s take a virtual tour of the coastal region. You can follow along on the Newseum s <A class=chan href="http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/default.asp" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Front Pages map</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG>. <P>Dolly grips the attention of newspapers printed in its path. In Brownsville, Texas, the bad news is bilingual. <CITE>The Brownsville Herald</CITE> gives Dolly its entire front page, including three articles and an editor s note announcing the closure of the paper s offices. Also using the whole front page: the city s Spanish-language <CITE>El Nuevo Heraldo</CITE> and, just across the border, <CITE>Expreso de Matamoros</CITE>. <P>With winds of 85 miles per hour and potential rainfall of 15 inches, the storm threatens to burst levees in the densely populated Rio Grande Valley. There, in McAllen, Texas, <CITE>The Monitor</CITE> warns that Dolly is  Bearing Down and the front page lays out a timeline for landfall. <P>To the south and probably out of harm s way, <CITE>Expreso</CITE> in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, notes that Dolly has its eye on Matamoros. And north along the Texas coast the <CITE>Victoria Advocate</CITE> beseeches  Stay Away, Dolly. The <CITE>San Antonio Express-News</CITE> warns that this hurricane is  Not to be taken lightly ; however, the <CITE>Houston Chronicle s</CITE> front page claims  South Texas ready as Dolly descends. Finally, with one headline <CITE>The Beaumont Enterprise</CITE> sums up both the much-needed rainfall and the potential flooding as  A blessing, a curse. <P>As we move out of the Lone Star state, coverage moves from front-and-center to the margins. In Lake Charles, La., the <CITE>American Press</CITE> has an article at bottom left. In Lafayette, La., <CITE>The Daily Advertiser</CITE> covers Dolly across the bottom of the front page. And although three years ago Hurricane Katrina broke levees and inundated New Orleans, <CITE>The Times-Picayune</CITE> only teases Dolly readers over to Page 2. <P>East out of Louisiana, even along the Gulf Coast, Dolly disappears. The storm is nowhere to be found on the front page of Biloxi s <CITE>Sun Herald</CITE>, Pascagoula s <CITE>The Mississippi Press</CITE>, or Fort Walton Beach s <CITE>Northwest Florida Daily News</CITE>. <P><EM>Hicks Wogan is a staff assistant at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072208"></a> <b>July 22, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Obama is big news, but not the only news</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Emily Hedges</P> <P>Barack Obama's overseas trip is making news from sea to shining sea. <CITE>The Miami Herald International</CITE> showed Obama shaking hands with the Iraqi prime minister. The <CITE>Aurora</CITE> (Colo.) <CITE>Sentinel</CITE> used the photo that the majority of newspapers used for the story  a photo of Obama in a helicopter with Gen. David Petraeus. <CITE>The Christian Science Monitor</CITE> (Boston) claimed that many Arabs did not even know who Obama was with the headline  Barack Who? <P>Many international papers featured Obama on the front page as well. From Austria (Vienna s <CITE>Kurier</CITE>) to Israel (Tel Aviv s <CITE>Maariv</CITE>) to Uruguay (Montevideo s <CITE>El Pais</CITE>), Obama was shown on front pages on several continents. <P>But Obama's trip is just one of the major stories on front pages today. Here are a few more: <UL> <LI><B>U.S. Olympic team visits White House:</B> As the 2008 U.S. Olympic team prepares for Beijing, it made a stop to visit President Bush yesterday. The <CITE>Santa Barbara</CITE> (Calif.) <CITE>News-Press</CITE> headlined the story "Olympic Dreams," while <CITE>The Augusta</CITE> (Ga.) <CITE>Chronicle</CITE> profiled a local injured Iraq war veteran who qualified for the U.S. Paralympic team. <BR><BR> <LI><B>Salmonella  again, or still?:</B> "Tainted jalapenos found," said the straightforward headline on the top of <CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune's</CITE> front page. <CITE>The Bradenton</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Herald</CITE> marked tomatoes as "Safe" and called the "Unsafe" jalapeno a "Hot suspect." <BR><BR> <LI><B>Hot as an oven:</B> <CITE>The Huntsville</CITE> (Ala.) <CITE>Times</CITE> used the succinct headline "102° to describe the heat. The Memphis, Tenn., <CITE>Commercial Appeal s</CITE> headline read,  Feel the Burn, and the front page featured an almost-obligatory photo of a child playing in water outdoors.</LI></UL> <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:ehedges@newseum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Emily Hedges</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is an assistant editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#072108"></a> <b>July 21, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>There s no overdoing coverage<BR>of Barack Obama s world tour</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>We read so much last week about the expected overkill in coverage of Barack Obama s whirlwind, worldwide tour that we wondered whether the U.S. dailies would follow the lead of the broadcasters  all three television network anchors are on the trip. The simple answer is NO. Indeed, as we looked at today s front pages we toyed with the idea of writing the assigned analysis with the lead,  The following dailies had nothing about Senator Obama on Page One, and then listing a few hundred newspapers. <P><CITE>USA Today</CITE>, the biggest newspaper, does have a Page One photo of the candidate with Afghanistan President Karzai and a story stating that  Obama makes high-stakes debut on foreign stage, but <CITE>The New York Times</CITE> settles for a photo of  A candidate in Kabul and a story on Page A14, and <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> squares off a story claiming that  For  surge troops, pride mingles with doubt and a boldface line about the Obama story on Page A4. That photo in <CITE>USA Today</CITE> was liked by many editors; it s on Page One of <CITE>The Birmingham News</CITE> in Alabama with a story about  Iraqi leader s comments stir tension, on the <CITE>Arizona Daily Star</CITE> in Tucson with its story about  Obama to see Iraqi leader receptive to a timetable, and as teases to stories inside <CITE>The Boston Globe</CITE>, the <CITE>Daily News</CITE> in Los Angeles, <CITE>The Ledger</CITE> in Lakeland, Fla., and the <CITE>San Antonio Express-News</CITE> in Texas. <P>Some dailies did play up the trip. The <CITE>Chicago Sun-Times</CITE> leads with  Obama in the war zone, with a photo; <CITE>The Lewiston</CITE> (Idaho) <CITE>Tribune</CITE> squares off at the top of the page  Obama delegation hits Baghdad ; the <CITE>Las Vegas Review-Journal</CITE> wants you to know that  Obama urges troop increases in Afghanistan; <CITE>The Press</CITE> in Atlantic City, N.J., leads with  Obama pledges support to Karzai ; the <CITE>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</CITE> has an off-lead report that  Obama stirs up a flap on war ; the <CITE>Arkansas Democrat Gazette</CITE> in Little Rock reports  Obama to Afghans:  We need urgency.  <CITE>The Christian Science Monitor</CITE> from Boston leads with  Obama and McCain on Israel, has that much-used photo but offers the Obama-Karzai story on Page 11. <P>At coffee break time, we re going back to the <CITE>Bangor Daily News</CITE> up in Maine to read the Page One story about the bear being killed in a local neighborhood. <P><EM>Gene Mater is a Freedom Forum media consultant.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#071808"></a> <b>July 18, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>A summer s day at beach <BR>& it s all good news</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P>It s a Friday in July. Time to go to the beach. <P> Summer in R.I., <CITE>The Providence Journal</CITE> declared in a package that included a photo of the first trip to the beach by 15-month-old twins Amelia and Jocelyn. <P>Boats powered the <CITE>Press-Telegram</CITE> of Long Beach, Calif., illustrating a list of weekend activities. And speaking of things to do, the <CITE>Northwest Florida Daily News</CITE> in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., put a little zip into its coverage with a photo and story about a new zip line and ropes course in one of its communities. <P>From South Carolina,  A side of rain came with the Beaufort Water Festival, <CITE>The Beaufort Gazette</CITE> noted. The nearby <CITE>Bluffton Today</CITE> called the 53rd annual event  Waterfront dreamin . <P>Some rain also is in the forecast on the <CITE>Pensacola</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>News Journal</CITE>, which might be why the newspaper was thinking indoor activities. It incorporated a flash of the new Batman movie,  The Dark Knight, into its nameplate. <P><CITE>The Daytona Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>News-Journal</CITE> offered a different kind of forecast:  State s financial forecast: bad and worse. <P><IMG src="http://www.freedomforum.org\Newspaper_Rotate\7_18_08\9.jpg" align=right>Food made top headlines in <CITE>The Palm Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Post</CITE>, as the FDA lifted its warning about tomatoes and the newspaper recounted fishermen s  agony at sea after eating tainted grouper. <P>In New Jersey, the <CITE>Asbury Park Press</CITE> reported that a borough was shutting down some of its government offices on Fridays to save money  more time for the shore. <P><B>Men of peace</B> & Editor Ray Hartley of <CITE>The Times</CITE> of Johannesburg, South Africa, calls today s front page  one of the easiest front-page decisions we have ever made. <CITE>The Times</CITE> used a full-page picture of <B>Nelson Mandela</B> to mark the 90th birthday of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Hartley said in a <A class=chan href="http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/hartley/2008/07/18/untitled/" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>blog</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> that the photo of Mandela was the largest picture the national newspaper had ever used. <P><B>Pope Benedict XVI</B> is in Australia for World Youth Day.  Shining His Light, <CITE>The Sydney Morning Herald</CITE> said in a  Super Souvenir front page. <CITE>The Age</CITE> of Melbourne highlighted the pope s message to Australia:   Life is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful.  Amen. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#071708"></a> <b>July 17, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>For Page One, numbers count</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By John Maynard</P> <P>Numbers don t lie but can they sell newspapers? <P>All sorts of numbers bounce off the front pages of today s newspapers  big numbers, small numbers, odd numbers, even numbers and many with a dollar sign in front of them. <P>Several California papers lead with depressing new statistics that show a 25% dropout rate among high school students.  1 in 4 students in state drop out, proclaims the banner headline of the <CITE>San Jose Mercury News</CITE>. <P>The <CITE>Reading</CITE> (Pa.) <CITE>Eagle</CITE> addresses dour economic news with the headline,  1-2 Punch for June: Prices up, wages fall. <P>On a happier note,  60 Years, together is the header of the lead story in the <CITE>Norwich</CITE> (Conn.) <CITE>Bulletin</CITE> profiling three couples celebrating their 60th wedding anniversaries. <P>Speaking of anniversaries, the front page of the <CITE>Corvallis</CITE> (Ore.) <CITE>Gazette-Times</CITE> notes that  Da Vinci Days turns 20 today and the <CITE>Kane County</CITE> (Ill.) <CITE>Chronicle</CITE> declares,  Kane County kicks off 140th fair. <P>As for dollar signs, <CITE>The Spokesman-Review</CITE> in Spokane, Wash., writes about  A $3 Million Firefight in the region. The <CITE>New Haven</CITE> (Conn.) <CITE>Register</CITE> weighs in on a police scandal in nearby Madison.  Cop Scandal Tab: $337,000, reads the banner headline. <P>A big  55 is the headline of <CITE>The Tampa</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Tribune</CITE>, which looks at the history of the national 55 mph speed limit and why, despite high gas prices, we ll probably never go back to it. <P>And don t be scared of the scary-looking villain with the painted face that adorns many front pages today. That s the late actor Heath Ledger as The Joker in the new Batman movie opening tomorrow. Many papers use his image to tease their review of the movie, which the film industry hopes will draw, well, big numbers. <P><EM>John Maynard is an exhibits writer at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#071608"></a> <b>July 16, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Reporting on the economy:<BR> Gloom, doom from every angle </SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Kate Kennedy</P> <P> Bad news comes in waves for economy, the <CITE>Chicago Tribune</CITE> said this morning. Those waves crashed over front pages around the world. <P>Somber comments about the U.S. economy from President Bush and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke propelled <CITE>The Washington Post</CITE> to use much of its front page to document  An Economy Thrown Into Turmoil. The paper used charts and photos to break out  The Energy Puzzle,  Bank Shares Tumble,  Fannie, Freddie Falter and  Dark Day at GM. <P>Another Post  <CITE>The Palm Beach</CITE> (Fla.) <CITE>Post</CITE>  also devoted much of its page to an economic package:  Troubling signs across the board. <P>Far from Washington but just as close to troubling economic news, <CITE>The State Journal Register</CITE> of Springfield, Ill., summed it up:  Gloom, doom from every angle. <P><CITE>The New York Times</CITE> pictured Bush as he  tried to reassure Americans. The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> called it a  presidential pep talk but noted that Bush s words were at odds with higher prices and lower sales. <P><CITE>The News Journal</CITE> of Wilmington, Del., bulleted Tuesday s events and localized impact:  Del. vulnerable to economic fallout. In Michigan, GM continued to make cuts.  Carmaker acts to restore confidence in its future, <CITE>The Detroit News</CITE> said in a Page One business column. <P>Anywhere there are worried consumers and concerned investors  that s everywhere  economic news was prominent. <CITE>The Indianapolis Star</CITE> said,  Inflation hits levels not seen since  80s. <CITE>The Clarion-Ledger</CITE> in Jackson, Miss., illustrated  A Souring Economy. <CITE>The Courier-Journal</CITE> in Kentucky declared:  Economic doldrums drive nation s gloom with a local sidebar on Louisville banks. <CITE>The Seattle Times</CITE> quoted analysts:  Government can t do much more to help. <P>The <CITE>Toronto Star</CITE> said,  Economy takes a triple hit  a reference to housing prices, inflation and GM cuts. <CITE>The Wall Street Journal</CITE> noted the widening impact of the failing U.S. economy. From Scotland to Australia to Colombia to Japan, money news was on Page One. <P>Those looking for an escape found 15 innings of relief in a four-hour and 50-minute All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> pictured  The Final Play at the Plate, and the <CITE>St. Paul</CITE> (Minn.) <CITE>Pioneer Press</CITE> showed Twins catcher Joe Mauer being greeted by Yogi Berra. The American League won, 4-3, but <CITE>The Tampa Tribune</CITE> said Yankee Stadium was the star of the night.  In shadow of new park, <CITE>The Journal News</CITE> of Westchester County, N.Y., reported,  landmark s last All-Star game a gem. <P><EM><A class=chan href="mailto:kkennedy@freedomforum.org" target=blank><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=#184174 size=2><STRONG>Kate Kennedy</A></SPAN></FONT></STRONG> is front pages editor at the Newseum.</EM></P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br><font size=2><a href="#top">back to top</a></font><br>-------------------------<br><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a name="#071508"></a> <b>July 15, 2008</b> <P><SPAN class="style23 style7 style32"><FONT color=black size=3><STRONG>Bank failure still a big story<BR>for Southern California dailies</SPAN></FONT></STRONG> <P>By Gene Mater</P> <P>We thought that we would check to see how the Southern California dailies were doing with the run on the bank that was the high or low point of yesterday s financial story. The story  with photos of the crowds wanting to get their money out of the failed IndyMac Bank  is there for all to see and read. <P>The <CITE>Los Angeles Times</CITE> has a five-column picture of the queuing crowds and two Page One stories   Banks hit by fallout from the crisis at IndyMac and  Fed imposes new rules on lenders. The competing <CITE>Daily News</CITE> reports  Run on IndyMac continues, with what we used to call a button above that proclaiming,  We want our cash, worried account-holders say. The Spanish-language <CITE>La Opinion</CITE>, also in Los Angeles, has a picture and heads teasing the inside coverage. <P>The <CITE>Press-Telegram</CITE> in Long Beach also has a picture and the headline,  Long lines and few answers. The <CITE>Inland Valley Daily Bulletin</CITE> in Ontario reports  Bank troubles above its photo and  IndyMac customers rush to get money below it. <CITE>The San Diego Union-Tribune</CITE> says that  Assurances don t ease banking fears. <P>The <CITE>Daily Breeze</CITE> in Torrance says it all with a top-of-the-page banner reporting  Depositors throng IndyMac, the <CITE>Ventura County Star</CITE> in Ventura goes the same way with  Hundreds Flock to IndyMacs, and the <CITE>Santa Barbara News Press</CITE> has a banner about  Angry customers pulling out of IndyMac, dropping down to two stories. <CITE>The Press-Enterprise</CITE> in Riverside reports that  Banking jitters spread, while <CITE>The Orange County Register</CITE> in Santa Ana plays it differently, offering  4 must-read stories you ll find inside today s paper ; the first one is  Bank cl