Wednesday, March 14, 2007

There's one now!

From today's Greensboro front, a reminder that editors need to make sure the big type and the photos work well together -- because if you don't, they're going to work together any way they please.

The problem with the hammerhed here isn't that it's necessarily wrong or presumptive (though the 1A text characterizes the visit as an effort "to reach out to the political left," not specifically the black vote). The problem is that it's such a perfect fit with everything that's going on within the image: Edwards' eye direction, the motion of the main characters, even the way everybody in the background seems to be pointing. Your brain has done all its cognitive work before you get anywhere near the cutline proper.

"Edwards heads left," of course, isn't going to work. The best solution, if you can't find a hed that does complement the art, is to aggressively dull it down until there's no unintended connection either. If that means dulling it all the way down to "Edwards in Greensboro" or something -- well, better that than looking silly.

Takeaway? There's always time for a fresh set of eyes on the 1A big type.

3 Comments:

Blogger Andy Bechtel said...

Good example. This happens far too often. Here's another one:

http://editdesk.blogspot.com/search?q=crackdown

9:49 AM, March 15, 2007  
Blogger fev said...

Love the crackdown photo. I imagine the perps confessed moments after it was taken.

10:38 AM, March 15, 2007  
Blogger Doug said...

Interesting that the TV station posting later got it right, while the newspaper's awful offering remains
http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-031407-al-paramedic_arrested.10cff68c.html

1:17 PM, March 17, 2007  

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