Charles Apple | American Copy Editors Society

Well. That storm certainly fizzled, now, didn’t it?

Naturally, I’m delighted that’s the case. I was so terrified for my poor old house, back in Virginia Beach. I wasn’t happy about evacuating to Atlanta for the weekend. Still, though, at the time we left — Thursday evening — it was the right thing to do.

The best-case scenario was always that Hurricane Irene would pull its punch, leave Hampton Roads somewhat undamaged and we’d look like a family of scaredy-cats for driving through the night Thursday to my in-laws’ house.

And that’s exactly what happened. Our neighbors report there is no real damage in our neighborhood, no flooding at all and even the power has been restored already, having been out for not quite 18 hours.

No, the only downside I can see from this outcome is that next time a major hurricane threatens our area, even fewer people will want to take cover. And that’s not a good thing.

So I’m writing this post en route to home. In fact, as I type this sentence, we just passed the outlet malls of Commerce, Ga., heading up I-85. Just across the Virginia state line in South Hill, we’ll exit, head east on U.S. 58 and then pick our way through Suffolk and Chesapeake — both of which were hit harder than Virginia Beach, I’m told.

I want to get this collection of pages posted as quickly as possible, however. I’ve already uploaded the pages themselves to my blog and I’m typing on the road. Once I’m done, we’ll pull off at the next McDonald’s and make the post public.

Someone remind me to get whatever equipment I need to turn my iPhone into a 3G hotspot for my laptop.

So anyway. With that out of the way, here is a look at the front pages in areas affected Saturday by Irene, as found at the Newseum…

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NEWS & OBSERVER
Raleigh, N.C.
Circulation: 134,470

Just a few of the photos taken yesterday will become iconic memories of Hurricane Irene.

This one — shot by my former colleague Chuck Liddy of the News & Observer — is at the top of the list.

You’re looking at Jackie Sparnackel. Despite evacuating with her possessions stuffed into her van, she couldn’t resist the temptation to stop along N.C. Hwy. 12 in Frisco Saturday to watch Irene pound hell out of the beachfront.

Bad move. Because as the storm drew nearer, waves inevitably washed over the beach and the road. Jackie found her van hopelessly stuck in the newly-displaced sand. A few bystanders tried to help her move the van, but no luck.

Meanwhile, the water rose higher and higher. And Jackie found herself forced to leave her van behind and flee for her life.

Chuck was there to get the shot. And what a shot.

The N&O ran the photo across five columns today.

It was a three-story, all-Irene front for the N&O today. But deservedly so — this is, by far, the biggest story of the year.

I don’t know how many people in Raleigh were responsible for today’s front page, now that most design and editing functions have been moved to Charlotte.

UPDATE: I’m told that while sports has moved to Charlotte, news design is still in Raleigh for at least two more weeks.

Whatever the case: Great job today by the News & Observer.

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FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Fayetteville, N.C.
Circulation: 52,698

The folks down the road in Fayetteville recognized the greatness of Chuck’s picture and chose to lead with it themselves.

My only beef here: The Observer chose to credit the photo to, simply, the “Associated Press.”

Nice job with the three vignette-like pictures across the top. And on a day like today, you don’t want to top death-and-destruction with your ACC football preview. Not a good mix, right? So the folks at the Observer made the right call by pushing their football skybox to the bottom of the page.

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WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Circulation: 60,140

How’s this for a fabulous, “Hey, Martha!”-type photo of local flooding on page one?

The picture is by staffer Jennifer Rotenizer. The amphibious vehicle is by Ford.

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NEWS & RECORD
Greensboro, N.C.
Circulation: 60,993

Here’s the second iconic Irene-impact photo of the day, played for all is high-impact excellence by the folks at the Greensboro, N.C., paper.

The picture is by another former colleague of mine, Bill Tiernan of the Virginian-Pilot.

You’re looking at a rescue worker helping a couple who were on a sailboat that found itself blown up onto the Ocean View section of Norfolk. The couple had planned to sail up to Annapolis in front of the storm, but didn’t quite make it.

Not mentioned here was that there was a cat aboard as well. I’m told the cat is fine.

Memo to the cat: Find yourself smarter owners.

Kudos to the News & Record for identifying the picture, running it big and getting the hell out of its way.

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VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Norfolk, Va.
Circulation: 152,198

Here’s how Bill’s own paper played that same picture.

A tighter crop than Greensboro used. But nearly a half-page in size.

The only downside here was something out of the Pilot‘s control: In order to get its papers delivered by a decent time today, the Pilot went to press a little earlier than usual last night. Hence, the reference to “record storm surges.” When, in fact, the surges in Hampton Roads turned out to be much less than officials had feared.

Still, it’s a wonderful front. Nobody does a big story better than the Virginian-Pilot.

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DAILY PRESS
Newport News, Va.
Circulation: 62,010

Across the James River, the Daily Press led today with a picture of a woman and her daughter watching the water rise in Poquoson.

The picture is by staffer Adrin Snider.

I’m not so sure about that huge grey top of the page. Would black have been better? Perhaps this works in print, but here on my screen, there’s not nearly enough contrast between the grey panel and the orange letterforms.

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FREE LANCE-STAR
Fredericksburg, Va.
Circulation: 41,675

The paper in Fredericksburg also led with bystanders watching water — in this case, folks watching the surf and spray in Colonial Beach.

The photo is nice enough, I suppose. But man, the headline here sure lacks a sense of urgency. I think it’s the way those all-upper-case letters are spaced out. I’m not crazy about the typeface in the first place. But some tighter kerning might have helped here.

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RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Richmond, Va.
Circulation: 115,431

What’s worse luck than walking beneath a ladder?

Walking beneath a leaning tree trunk, I’d imagine.

That wonderful photo is by Times-Dispatch staffer Dean Hoffmeyer.

In order to make room for that large picture, the designer chose to turn the rest of the page into four vertical rows of text. smallish deck heds, a tint box and lots of white space keep downpage from looking to grey.

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THE SUN
Baltimore, Md.
Circulation: 178,692

I dunno; perhaps by the time Irene had moved far north enough to affect Baltimore, it was clear that it didn’t have quite the punch everyone had feared.

Or something. Because the storm shared the front page of the Baltimore Sun with a local politics story and a schools story.

What I like about that photo by staffer Karl Merton Ferron: It doesn’t show some dumbass gawking at the weather. That’s a guy driving down a street in Ocean City and realizing the water in the road is a little too deep to try to cross.

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THE CAPITAL
Annapolis, Md.
Circulation: 36,587

Um, speaking of gawkers…

Very cute, I suppose. But a significant gust of wind at just the wrong moment would turn that family into the terrified woman in Frisco that we saw afront the Raleigh paper.

The picture is by staffer Laura-Chase McGehee.

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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Philadelphia, Pa.
Circulation: 343,710

The Inquirer led with the Virginian-Pilot photo by Bill Tiernan.

Thankfully, the Inky managed to credit the picture properly.

Again, note that the Inquirer went the same route as did the Baltimore Sun. Only half the real estate on page one is devoted to Irene.

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PATRIOT-NEWS
Harrisburg, Pa.
Circulation: 71,834

Today’s Patriot-News led with a picture of waves beating hell of a fishing pier in the Outer Banks.

The photo is by Charles Dharapak of the Associated Press. Particularly nice are the vignette photos across the top and the local story about folks rushing to help out in Jersey.

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MORNING CALL
Allentown, Pa.
Circulation: 106,021

I understand the need to sell papers. But when you have a huge talker of a story like Irene approaching you overnight, do you really need the story to compete with four other headlines above the fold?

The arena headline is a big local story, so I guess I can understand that. And there’s a lot of interest in high school football. So promoting the special section in a skybox makes sense, too.

But this might have been a good day to drop either the coupon blurb or the al-Qaida story. Or both.

The picture of Ocean City, N.J. — by Reuters’ Molly Riley — is a good one.

As is the headline. Once you get to it.

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STAR-LEDGER
Newark, N.J.
Circulation: 229,255

The paper in Newark used “onslaught” in its main hed today and “deluge” in its deck. Giving the Star-Ledger some kind of double word score or something.

The layout itself is nice and clean. I wonder about the lead photo by staffer Saed Hindash, however, showing gawkers in Cape May. Seems like an awful lot of photos today are of the “Hey, let’s go see what it looks like… Oh, crap!” variety.

Oh, and given that Irene smacked hell out of the Bahamas before it headed north to the Carolinas and Virginia, I’m also wondering about that bottom-of-the-page advertisement.

“Save up to 65 percent” indeed.

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ASBURY PARK PRESS
Neptune, N.J.
Circulation: 107,443

I like the basic layout of today’s Asbury Park Press. I adore the four little text box-plus-pictures across the top and the gentle wit shown by the headline.

What I don’t care for is the choice of lead photo. If this is the “Storm of the Century” and the police have blocked off Ocean Ave. because of flooding, then let’s see the flooding. Rather than the police car.

The picture is by staffer Mary Frank.

UPDATE: A staffer at the Asbury Park design studio tells me that must be an early edition or something. Later editions of the Press led with a different photo. Well, maybe so. But all we can see is whatever that studio uploads to the Newseum.

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THE TIMES
Trenton, N.J.
Circulation: 37,347

The best headline of the day, perhaps, is this one by the Times of Trenton, N.J.

That pretty much summed up the fear felt by so many Saturday up and down the East Coast.

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NEW YORK TIMES
New York, N.Y.
Circulation: 916,911

Well, hell: More front page gawkers show up on page A1 of today’s New York Times.

That appears to be kids messing around among the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., at the height of the storm.

What happens the next time a major hurricane threatens? Will kids see all these front-page photos and then want to hang around and check out the wind and ocean spray for themselves? Will they be standing on the oceanfront when the water suddenly rises and claims their van? Or, worse yet, their lives?

I’m seeing way too much of this sort of thing today. And it’s making me awfully nervous. This is not a good thing.

Once you get past all that, it’s a good picture. Of course. Credit goes to Scott Olson of Getty Images.

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STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
Staten Island, N.Y.
Circulation: 39,198

Conversely, today’s Staten Island Advance concentrated on folks preparing for rising water and heavy winds.

All four of today’s front-page photos were local. The biggest — of women filling sandbags — is by staffer Hilton Flores.

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NEW YORK POST
Circulation: 522,874

DAILY NEWS
Circulation: 530,924

I’m never quite sure if this is a coincidence when it happens. But it seems to happen every so often: Both the New York Post and the Daily News used the same photo today — in this case, Chuck Liddy’s photo of the woman escaping her van stuck in the sand in Frisco, N.C.

 

Here’s the odd thing, though. In order to preserve room for a huge headline and three bullet-point decks, the Daily News was forced to crop out the woman’s van. Meaning this powerful image and the tale it represents is reduced to just some hysterical woman running down the street.

Part of being a good designer, of course, is realizing when the shape of your page and your content needs have defeated your good intentions. You have to know when to dump your plans and choose a different picture. Or different headline text.

The Post: Nice job. The Daily News: Epic fail.

Before we get carried away with compliments for the Post, however, please note the sort-of-naughty pun hed on a story where such a pun headline is completely inappropriate.

Ah, the New York Post. So predictable…

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HARTFORD COURANT
Hartford, Conn.
Circulation: 135,283

I loved three things about today’s Hartford Courant.

First, I love the little timeline treatment across the top of the page. Secondly, I love the alliteration in the main headline. It’s slightly amusing and witty but without seeming forced or inappropriate.

But more importantly, I love, love, love that picture by staffer Rick Hartford. There might be more people in that storm shelter than just that one old man. But you wouldn’t know it from this photo.

The cutline itself may be one of the best stories of the day:

Catching up on storm coverage is Johnny Gaines of Old Saybrook, who said he’s “70-plus” years old. He was watching TV at Old Saybrook High School Saturday afternoon, taking advantage of shelter from the hurricane. “I’m very happy. I feel at home here,” he said, noting that there is plenty to eat and drink and adding, with a laugh, that nobody tells you when you have to go to bed.”

Kudos to the photographer and whoever wrote that cutline. And to the Courant for running it all on page one today.

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BOSTON GLOBE
Boston, Mass.
Circulation: 219,214

Today’s Globe seemed in need of a dominant element. Sure, Bill Tiernan’s photo shot in Norfolk is used three columns wide. But the two pictures played below it compete with it to a large degree.

Too many moving pieces. Again, perhaps the storm had fizzled enough to merit smaller play. But the (pretty decent) headline suggests that a front page with more punch might have been called for.

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CAPE COD TIMES
Hyannis, Mass.
Circulation: 37,522

If you had to take a lighter approach today, then this is how you do it.

That’s a picture by Steve Heaslip of the Cape Cod Times. And it gave me one of the biggest belly laughs I’ve had all weekend.

The Times played it across five awesome columns on page one today.

I also like the main headline: On the doorstep. Pretty decent.

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PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
Providence, R.I.
Circulation: 91,804

Speaking of headlines, I think this one summed up the day pretty well. Not only did it get in the “weaker” angle, it also managed to use the word “ferocious.” Not a word you often see in a headline.

The picture taken in Nags Head, N.C., is by Gerry Broome of the Associated Press.

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SUN JOURNAL
Lewiston, Maine
Circulation: 33,900

And for completeness sake, I’m including the one Maine newspaper I could find today, the Sun Journal. Despite the fact that the folks in Lewiston thought so little of the approaching hurricane that Irene shared above-the-fold space with a promo to hip replacement surgery.

With two photos, two almost-stories starting out front, a very long web refer — much longer than the lead story, in fact — and an enormous breakout box, today’s lead package seems awfully crammed together. I’d have recommended a little more thought going into finding a way to bring structure to these elements.

That’s a pretty decent AP photo of folks boating down a river in Manteo, N.C., well after the storm passed. But it doesn’t seem to match the lead headline in content and tone.

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Again, all of these front pages are from the Newseum. Of course.

And man. What a great resource the Newseum has been this weekend. As always. But this weekend in particular.

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Previous blog posts about Hurricane Irene…

• Wednesday: Like the Virginian-Pilot says… Our next big worry: Hurricane Irene
• Thursday: The latest on Hurricane Irene
• Friday: Our Hurricane Irene plan: Get the hell out of Dodge
• Friday: An ode to Hurricane Irene from the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer
• Saturday: The day’s notable Hurricane Irene front pages
• Saturday: A golden moment in the Weather Channel’s live broadcast from Virginia Beach.