Comm455/History of Journalism

On March 6th 2016,  Former First Lady Nancy Reagan passed away.

Here is what was on the cover major newspapers the next day.

Monday March 7th, 2016

Looking at top of each front page, called “above the fold” we can see the majority have a picture and a story about the passing of the first lady. The is one paper that does not, the Washington Post. Instead the Post’s top headline is that of a baseball stadium in Havana Cuba that is preparing for the arrival of President Obama for a baseball game with the Tampa Bay Rays facing the Cuban National Team.

  above the fold

  below the fold

From a graphics standpoint I think this is interesting for a few reasons. First, while other papers have Reagan on the cover, the fact that the Post does not makes it stand out. I see this as a good thing. In the world of digital media, the majority of the Post’s readership would have already known about the passing of the former first lady. The would not likely know about the the baseball game in Cuba.

One thing that is interesting is why the post about baseball is on the front page anyway? Since Washington is a big hub for politics, a story like this does make some sense as a top story, since President Obama will be traveling there. at the same time though, Nancy Reagan was a powerful person in Washington as well. As first lady, she kick started the “just say no” campaign in regards to drugs.

Overall I think the digital expansion of news online is affecting newspapers in an interesting way, starting with the front cover. News organizations have to adapt to the fact that a paper may not be the breaking source for news anymore, so that have to come up with ways to attract eyes to the page.