Archive for May 2011

31: Your gross-out story for the week

Many folks throughout the Southern U.S. are overrun this spring with cicadas. Brood XIX a batch of bugs that re-emerge every 13 years. Yet, I’ve not seen a lot of cicada centerpieces or graphics. The reason I mention it: University of Missouri student LeeAnn Elias — who’s working the print desk of the Missourian this summer — wrote this weekend [...]

31: Front page coverage of the resignation of a football coach

Football coach Jim Tressel resigned Monday from Ohio State University. He was under tremendous pressure in the wake of a number of deepening scandals there that involved players trading for favors among local merchants — most notably a tattoo parlor. The bigger issue, however, was that Tressel knew about what was going on but took steps to cover it up. [...]

31: Birthdays for Tuesday, May 31

Here’s wishing the happiest of birthdays to two fine visual journalists… Diane Cunningham works at the Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster. Diane is a graduate of Iowa State University. Cathy Henkel is the former sports editor of the Seattle Times. A 1970 graduate of Wichita State University, Cathy spent her college years reporting for the Eagle-Beacon of Wichita. She [...]

30: Astounding news photo of the day (1)

The most astounding news photo of the day is, without doubt, this one by Michael Schumacher of the Amarillo, Texas, Globe-News. Wildfires — stirred up my extreme heat and high winds — threatened large swaths of town Sunday. In that picture, you see aircraft lining up to dump fire retardant agents in hopes of creating a firebreak beside the highway. [...]

30: Today’s notable Memorial Day presentations

Sunday, we took at look at ten outstanding Memorial Day presentations. Today, we’ll look at 16 more, published on Memorial Day itself. — POST-STAR Glens Falls, N.Y. Circulation: 25,705 While not quite as stunning as Sunday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer portrait of the Medal of Honor, this centerpiece shows us some of the military’s most distinguished decorations. The presentation is labeled [...]

30: Birthdays for Monday, May 30

Here’s wishing the happiest of birthdays to two extraordinary visual journalists… Jeff Goertzen is graphics editor of the Denver Post. A 1986 graduate of California State University in Fresno, Jeff has worked at the Orange County Register, the Detroit Free Press, El Mundo in Madrid and El Periódico in Barcelona. He spent several years as a senior artist and graphics [...]

29: Ten cool Sunday front-page visuals

My daily sweep through the Newseum produced more than just a handful of weather front pages and Memorial Day front pages. I also spotted a number of visuals I thought worthy of bringing to your attention. Other than what I’m posting elsewhere today, here are ten unusually cool Sunday front pages from around the country. — ARIZONA REPUBLIC Phoenix, Ariz. [...]

29: Ten wonderful Memorial Day front pages

Lots of papers published wonderful Memorial Day treatments today on page one. Here’s a look at ten of the best. — GAZETTE Colorado Springs, Colo. Circulation: 76,030 The folks in Colorado Springs focused on a Korean War veteran. The man’s face reflected in the frame holding his medals is a bit haunting. That lead photo is by staffer Jerilee Bennett. [...]

29: A look at Sunday’s tornado front pages

It’s been a week since a horrifying F5 tornado tore through the tiny town of Joplin, Mo., ending 139 lives and changing others forever. Here’s a look at Day Seven coverage of the aftermath. — KANSAS CITY STAR Kansas City, Mo. Circulation: 209,258 Is this a dynamite photo or what? This is sunrise over Joplin on Day Three, last Tuesday, [...]

29: Birthdays for Sunday, May 29

Here’s wishing the happiest of birthdays to four terrific visual journalists… Dave Elbert is a business columnist for the Des Moines Register. He’s reported and edited business news in central Iowa for more than 30 years. Dave turns 64 today. Joey Kirk is lead designer for user experience at Tribune Interactive in Chicago, Ill. The owner of bachelor’s and master’s [...]

28: A look at Saturday’s storm aftermath pages (2)

One day soon, I’m going to cease the daily roundup I’ve been performing lately of pages in the wake of last weekend’s devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo. and the subsequent storms this week around the country. But today’s not that day. There’s still a lot of notable work going on out there. A little tough to read through, at times, [...]

28: In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion shoots pictures tonight

This happened in South Africa, but that’s not why I’m showing it to you. I’m showing it to you because it’s funny as hell. Photographers Roger and Pat de la Harpe of Africa Imagery — a South African stock agency and publishing house — were in the Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve — in the extreme northern part of the country, [...]

28: Birthdays for Saturday, May 28

Here’s wishing the happiest of birthdays to two brilliant visual journalists… Joshua Gillin is a columnist, designer, and web editor for TBT — the youth-oriented tabloid of the St. Petersburg Times. A 1998 graduate of the University of Nebraska, Josh spent a year as a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and three-and-a-half years as a news planner and designer [...]

27: Blagojevich trial on page one: Stripped, good, better and brilliant (5)

The story in Chicago this week: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has finally begun testifying in his own defense at his retrial on corruption charges. The story wasn’t even the centerpiece for today’s Chicago Tribune. That spot was taken by the Bulls’ swan dive out of the NBA playoffs. However, the Blagojevich story was stripped across the top of A1 [...]

27: Friday’s storm pages: Stunning photo and story by Springfield News-Leader

We’ll start off today’s tornado roundup with something that truly stunned me, folks. And I mean truly. Stunned. Me. I read this story a few hours ago and then had to take a break. I just couldn’t bear to read any more. But now it’s time buckle down and get this posted. This story comes to us today via a [...]

27: Inspirational quote for the day

Can I get an amen on that? Find Overhead in the Newsroom‘s Web site here and its Twitter feed here.

27: The state of online news presentation, 190 years ago

What would the U.K.’s Guardian — at the time, based in Manchester, England — have looked like in 1821, had web sites been around at the time? Like this, perhaps. Hilarious stuff. And what’s even better: All the links actually work. Yes, this is a live news page. Jim Brady of the Journal Register company tweets today: Sadly, some sites [...]

27: Another astounding photo from Joplin, Mo. (1)

I’ve already screwed up once this week posting a jaw-dropping tornado photo that turned out to be two years old. It was authentic. Just not new. But because I’m a glutton for punishment, here’s another for you. This picture was reportedly shot in Joplin, Mo., this week. Yes, that’s a shard of wood. Impaled in a concrete curb. Twitter user [...]

27: Geekazoid Friday: Best music video ever (2)

For your Friday afternoon entertainment… The music is by Bruno Mars. The video, however, stars none other than Leonard Nimoy. Enjoy… Thanks to Aric West for posting this on Facebook earlier this week. Bonus Geekazoid for today: The evolution of the geek. Thanks to Alberto Cuadra for tweeting this today.

27: Coolest photo of the day (1)

I’m trying to decide. Is this photo gorgeous? Or is it creepy? That picture — shot by Al Key — lede art today on the front page of the Record-Chronicle of Denton, Texas, circulation 13,209. The caption: The headlights of a car on the West Loop 288 overpass at Interstate 35 seem to form eyes for a water tower on [...]