Hold the front page - so we can explain its raison d'être

Published on Monday 19 February 2007 00:47

THE front page has been grabbing readers' attention as it is supposed to - but sometimes for the wrong reasons. I have had a number of complaints about the front page being too tabloid or too simplistic.

Jack MacPherson, of Inverurie, cites it as evidence of The Scotsman's dumbing down. "For me it is the presentation of your front page these days which is usually a large picture of your lead story with a headline slapped over it.

"You may provide justifiable editorial reasons for this, but to me it suggests a lazy style and makes the paper indistinguishable at first glance from its tabloid competitors.

"I know this is fairly superficial criticism but if it annoys me I wonder how many other readers it annoys".

OK. Here go the justifiable editorial reasons. The front page has two main jobs to do, and sometimes these tasks can conflict. The first thing the front page does is say a lot about the newspaper. I suppose it is like the clothes an individual wears. Everything about it sends out a message, and sometimes that can be very subtle. The typeface for the masthead (I should probably do a glossary with this but the masthead is the newspaper's title at the top of page one), any emblems that go with it, the typeface for the headlines, the size of the headlines, the type of headline (should all headlines still contain a verb?), the words used in headlines, size of pictures, the content of pictures (too graphic, too gratuitous?), the colours of puffs (the signposts for offers or stories inside) ... all these elements for The Scotsman have to convey the same message: quality.

There have to be underlying threads in the front page, there has to be a style that the reader recognises as familiar. But there also has to be variation so that the front page is not identical every day - that would be boring - and it has to be flexible enough to reflect news values (there's always a bigger story coming along).

The front page's other important job is as our shop window. It is how we get readers to pick us up from the newsstands as we sit nestling among the other papers, all vying for attention.

We have to set ourselves apart on the newsstands as the best-quality buy, and we have a canvas the size of two sides of A4 on which to do it.

So every day we have to try and present the stories we have in the most powerful and freshest way, and stay inside our quality boundaries. There also have to be some general rules: headlines have to be accurate and not offensive, pictures have to be responsible. Sometimes, however, together, they have to convey a horrible truth. When is it acceptable to use a picture of a dead body on the front of a newspaper? Would that be sensationalising, per se? The answers to those questions lie always in the circumstances of any given event. It is a daily test of taste and judgment in the pursuit of journalistic impact.

We will not always get this right; we will rarely get it right in everyone's eyes. At the risk of shouts of "too gratuitous", I feel I have to mention at this point the international media website Innovations in Newspapers. In January, they declared our front page report on the killing of an Afghan warlord by British troops as Front Page of the Day, saying: "The Scotsman wins the "Front Page of the Day" with a dramatic headline, compelling story and strong design. Well done!" One down ...

SHELAGH Smith, of Kirriemuir, writes to express her annoyance at the proliferation of "free gifts" in the paper. "I notice the price of the paper has risen again and I wonder if the cost of these maps, booklets and glossy information sheets has anything to contribute to the new price?" she asks. No, is the short answer.

We look on these items as added value for our existing readers, and as added reasons to buy for other potential readers out there. In the scale of annual budgets, they are not terribly expensive to do. The reason behind the unfortunate price rise is the substantial increase in the cost of newsprint.

THE aptly named W A P Weatherston writes to say: "The Scotsman has for a long time published a table of Scottish weather readings and a table of Round the World readings. The Round the World table has headings which make it clear which temperatures are Centigrade and which Fahrenheit. For some mysterious reason, the Scottish table has no headings to explain what is being measured. It would be helpful to readers if this was made explicit." Absolutely. And it will be.