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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Tabloid design’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

Feb. 9: Three interesting page-one visuals

Here are three interesting items I found in my daily romp through the Newseum… — STANDARD-EXAMINER Ogden, Utah Circulation: 62,603 You’re looking at a picture of a python. Playing with the owner’s ten grandkids. His name was Monty (I know, I know). Monty died last week at age 30. He spent 27 years in a classroom at Plain City Elementary [...]

Feb. 7: Spoiled NFL wife makes for great tabloid fodder today (6)

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen — better known to some as the wife of New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady — made big sports news after the Super Bowl, it seems. The New York Daily News reports: When fans heckled the supermodel, crying out “Eli rules!” and “Eli owns your husband,” Bundchen kept a tight smile on her face and kept walking. [...]

Feb. 6: A look at today’s notable Super Bowl pages (4)

There was way too much similarity in choices of front-page Super Bowl art around the country. The best photo choices were made today by some of the nation’s largest papers. Here’s a look at some of the more notable pages of the day… ________________________________ REPRESENTING THE NEW YORK GIANTS — NEWSDAY Melville, N.Y. Circulation: 404,542 Newsday today wrapped its usual [...]

Jan. 27: On the front of today’s tbt* tabloid: Not exactly a horrific crime story (1)

tbt* — the free, youth-oriented tabloid published in St. Petersburg by the Tampa Bay Times — has a very unusual front page today. Check it out: That — and the bullet hole art — really gets your attention. The only clue that the story might not have a horrific ending is the little yellow text across the bottom, telling us [...]

Jan. 18: Washington Business Journal’s Timothy Wong moving to Washington Post

Timothy Wong, design editor of the Washington Business Journal in Arlington, Va., is moving to the Washington Post, where he’ll join the digital design team working on mobile products, reports Eddie Scarry of MediaBistro‘s FishbowlDC blog. Scarry quotes Tim as saying: The position seemed like a unique opportunity that would give me more exposure to the digital side of the [...]

Jan. 14: The ultimate Tim Tebow cover illustration (1)

Here’s another page I missed yesterday. I definitely would have blogged it had I seen it. That was designed by Metro‘s national art director Stephanie Hinderer. She writes today via Facebook: The sports editors collaborated on the headline. I was told [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick were being painted as the evil duo. I just took it from there… That [...]

Jan. 11: For your consideration…

Check out the headline on the front of today’s Boston Herald: Very cute. This page is from the Newseum. Of course.

Jan. 6: The year’s most deliciously naughty alt-weekly tab covers

Over at the Society of Professional Designers, magazine design guru Robert Newman has been posting the year’s best alt-weekly tab covers. A few of them we saw here in the blog this past year. Like, for example, the “comics issue” front of the Village Voice by master illustrator Ward Sutton: Or this amusing look at the predicted End of the [...]

Dec. 21, 2011: For your consideration…

‘Tis the season to be… huh? RedEye — the free commuter tab published by the Chicago Tribune — is known for its brilliantly designed and engaging covers. But it rarely dives into what you’d normally think of as tabloid fare for the front page. Today is an exception, however. The story itself isn’t about holiday sex or about “who’s being [...]

Dec. 13, 2011: A study in contrasts today among Philadelphia tabloids

In this corner, weighing in with 110,000 readers is the Philadelphia Daily News. Today’s lead art: A little old lady peering through the steering wheel of her vintage 1950s automobile. In the opposing corner, we have Metro. Average free daily circulation about 122,475. Today’s lead art: Cute young models in bikinis and tops made out of coconut shells. Which makes [...]

Nov. 11, 2011: Only because Ernie Smith asked so nicely… (2)

Ernie Smith of ShortFormBlog asked tonight via Twitter: In case you didn’t see it, here was today’s New York Post, as seen at the Newseum. My reply: Not impressed with the design. Not impressed with the story. Not impressed with Ashton Kutcher. In case you didn’t hear about what happened — and in case you give a crap — check [...]

Oct. 28, 2011: Pittsburgh alt-weekly prints Spanish edition as a protest

As a protest, this week’s Spanish edition of the Pittsburgh City Paper will get plenty of attention. The edition is a reaction to yet another proposal by a state legislator — Republican RoseMarie Swanger — to make English the official language of the state. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Mackenzie Carpenter reports: “We were having a little fun because this discussion always [...]

Oct. 21, 2011: Not exactly a hidden subliminal message (3)

A young mother in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is offended by the cover of this week’s Coast, an alt-weekly. She’s offended! Can you imagine? That’s fucked up! Fucked Up is the name of a Toronto-based punk band. The band was this week’s cover story. The Canadian Broadcast Company reports today: “I’m in shock, really. I can’t believe it. Because I have [...]

Oct. 16, 2011: Separated at birth? (1)

It’s amazing how often these two competing papers end up with similar art and similar headlines on page one.   On the left is the New York Post, circulation 522,874. On the right is the Daily News, circulation 530,924. Both images are from the Newseum. Of course.

Oct. 3, 2011: Separated at birth?

On the left is the front of the Philadelphia Daily News from Sept. 19. On the right is today’s front.   Not exactly. But similar enough. Average daily circulation for the Daily News is 110,000. The page image is from the Newseum. Of course.

Aug. 5, 2011: Army Times titles show how to prepare for a zombie-fighting deployment (2)

You guys remember the big zombie apocalypse guide published earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, right? It caused a bit of a stir, because a) It proves governmental agencies can have a sense of humor. And b) It was a scream. Well, it’s not just the health officials in Atlanta who are wondering “what if” zombies attacked. [...]

Aug. 2, 2011: Now, THAT will get your attention (1)

Here’s how you generate buzz for your page one story. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the Tampa Bay Times, the free, youth-oriented tabloid published by the St. Petersburg Times. But man, you have to admire the way they go after those eyeballs. And, if you can’t push “nookie” on page one, go for simple nudity instead. That is [...]

Aug. 1, 2011: Truly bad news vs. advertising juxtaposition

Meet page 12 of today’s tampa bay times, the free, youth-oriented tabloid published daily by the St. Petersburg Times. Okay. Looks like a fairly interesting story, with a pretty decent headline across the top. So what’s the problem? The problem is the display copy in the ad on the facing page.   Hmmm. Not good. Not good at all. In [...]

July 27, 2011: For your consideration… (2)

Today’s New York Post cover is deliberately familiar. The story is about grass-roots outrage at the failure of Congress and President Barack Obama to make a deal on the debt limit. But the cover is meant to be a reference to a famous old cover of the rival Daily News from way back in October 1975, when then-President Gerald Ford [...]

July 23, 2011: Pot, meet kettle

Right after News Corp. announced the closing of News of the World two weeks ago, the Irish Daily Star — itself a very typical U.K. “redtop” tabloid — referred to News of the World on a page-one promo as a “Sunday rag.” In addition, the Daily Star threw in a swipe at another Murdoch paper, the Irish Sun, calling it [...]

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