The Front Page is a Map to the Middle

The front page of a newspaper is a map to the middle of the paper.  Read more and I will explain:

The Function of the front page of a newspaper is obviously to capture attention and interest.  Aside from the person who subscribes to the daily paper and reads it front to back, most people are not interested in reading the entire paper.  They want what interests them, and they want it quickly.  The front page offers what the editors think are the most interesting stories in the paper to capture the attention.  They do this with large fonts and a huge picture.  That way, the person who is sitting in a lounge, at the bus station, etc. who normally wouldn't read the paper, sees the huge title "CIA target of torture probe" and says, "Hmm.. interesting.  I think I will read that."

The next thing the editors do is only give a part of the story on the front page.  That way you have to actually go into the newspaper to find the rest.  While you are there, you might see another story that interests you, and that leads you to yet another story.  For example, you turn to A4 to finish the CIA story and you see "Expected loss of profits rankles business owners."  They might then read it.  Had the front page not captured their attention, they may never have gone into the inky paper and soiled their hands.

The difference between the print front page and the online front page of the Tribune Review is that readers can select what they want to read online rather quickly because the blurbs are conscise and to the point, plus pictures are added to give an instant sense of what that article will be about.

*Quotes taken from Tribune Review on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

*This is a blog entry on the Purpose of a Front Page in a newspaper for Dr. Jerz's newswriting class.