Only two died. That was the good news.
But that’s about all the good news folks in central Oklahoma are waking up to today.
At least two tornadoes ripped though the state Sunday. One started out near Edmond and stayed on the ground until it smashed into the town of Carney. The other touched down east of Norman and ripped up Shawnee and Bethel Acres, leaving the latter in “splinters.”
The two fatalities were in a mobile home park near Shawnee.
Here’s a quick look at how three central Oklahoma papers played the storms on page one today.
—TULSA WORLD
Tulsa, Okla.
Circulation: 97,725
The Tulsa paper played the story the safest, perhaps, with a standard headline proclaiming the biggest news: Only one dead. Which was the case at press time last night. A second body has been found, the AP is reporting this morning.
Might the World have been better off with a headline like: At least one dead? Or: One reported dead? I wonder.
While the headline is fairly standard, the deck — containing a quote — works very well with the lead photo.
Still, I’d like to see a version of this page with that quote as the main headline. I think that might have told the story better.
Both pictures here are from the Oklahoma City paper.
—
NORMAN TRANSCRIPT
Norman, Okla.
Circulation: 10,727
The Norman paper squeezed four aftermath photos onto page one today, which was at least one — and, perhaps, two — too many.
The picture — by staffer Kyle Phillips — of a woman standing in the remains of her daughter’s home is just heartbreaking. Nicely played, and well-paired with that particular headline.
Kyle also shot the picture of folks clearing debris while staffer Jay Chilton made the two nighttime pictures at bottom right. I’m not real sure if we can make out what’s happening in either of those pictures. I’d question their use on page one.
—
OKLAHOMAN
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Circulation: 130,177
The Oklahoma City paper had what I consider the best headline of the day — a quote hed — and the best lead art of the day as well.
The old woman on the right of that hug was in her cellar at the time the tornado ripped apart her home. And she still looks terrified.
The picture is by staffer Bryan Terry.
You’ll recognize the downpage photo by Sarah Phipps of a man comforting his girlfirend, whose trailer was destroyed. That also appeared on page one of the Tulsa paper.
The Oklahoman also managed to get in a map showing the tracks of the two outbreaks. The map was drawn by staffer David Downham.
—
These front pages are from the Newseum. Of course.
