NEWSPAPER DESIGN

Super Bowl XLVI is now in the books. Fans of the New York Giants went to bed happy last night. Fans of the New England Patriots likely went to bed angry or upset the team didn't win, avenging the loss to the Giants in the 2008 Super Bowl.

Happy or sad, we're going to revisit the game on front and inside pages leading up to game day and today. Hopefully, for the folks in New England, this won't be too painful.

In Peoria, the Journal Star gets readers ready for the game with this nice ASF centerpiece. From buffalo wings and beer, to team spirit and staying safe, readers are reminded of what's important on game day.

The Journal Star follows up its Saturday front page with this sharp Sunday front that puts all "Eyes on Indy." At six columns, the night-time AP photo of downtown Indianapolis is even more dramatic. The betting story by staffer Gary Childs and content promotions set against a light blue tint carry almost the top half of the front page.

Game-day revelry is tempered on this page with two back-to-reality stories that deserve some note here. The centerpiece story by columnist Phil Luciano profiles a 44-year-old quadriplegic and now novelist. The stop-you-in-your-tracks headline was enough for me to read the story "I went from 18 to 80 in seconds".

The story by Justin Glawe in the right column also put the day in perspective.

Strong page. Wow.

Deep in Patriots territory, The Patriot Ledger's weekend edition that comes out on Fridays ran this poster front. Yes, that's New England quarterback Tom Brady. No, that's not a photograph. It's a fantastic painting by local artist Brian Fox. Outstanding work. More on him in a minute.

The same image is seen on the Saturday front of The Enterprise.

Here are the fronts side by side.

Further south in Fall River, Mass., The Herald News also used Fox's painting for a wrap around the Saturday edition. I don't have that pdf to share with you here, but I'm sure it looks darn similar the Brockton and Quincy fronts. But looking at the real front page behind the wrap and you'll find a strip story that profiles none other than the artist himself — Mr. Brian Fox. That story is by staffer Greg Sullivan with a photo by staffer Jack Foley showing Fox in his studio.

In Connecticut, which borders the home states of both teams, The Bulletin turned to fans to predict the outcome of the game. The first two quotes are from fans who picked New York. The glance down the right side of the package features tidbits about the teams, the players' share ($88,000 per player if they win, $44,000 per player if they lose), the site, game coverage, commercials, watching the game online, Madonna's half-tiime show and, for those not watching the game, info on the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

The illustration that makes up big visual is by staffer Dan Goodwin.

In New York state, the Observer-Dispatch used its front-page centerpiece (story by Ron Moshier) to promote its 8-page preview section.

The 8-page special section included two full-page ads. Here's a look at the six editorial pages:

The front give a pro treatment to two locals who are cheering for opposing teams. On the left is an 83-year-old woman who supports the Giants. On the right is a 52-year-old man who is backing the Pats. The piece, written by staffer Cassaundra Baber, is designed as an ASF. Nicely done!

The fun piece at the bottom is headline "You might be a Giants fan if ..." and includes 10 reasons. These are great. For example, No. 6 reads: "You can't help but to underline every lowercase 'n' with the tail of a lowercase 'y.'" This is in reference to the team logo, which you can see under the New York fan in the centerpiece above.

Here are the rest of the section's editorial pages:

Jumping to the Midwest, The State Journal-Register used a large skybox to advance the Super Bowl coverage inside. Using images of pages is a great way to illustrate for readers the amount of coverage they'll find inside.

Looking inside, the first page is topped with the big header "SUPER BOWL GUIDE," which is exactly what this is, a guide for readers. This page includes a ton of info on the game, both teams, Super Bowl trivia, etc.

The second inside page is more of a guide for more serious football fans. The main focus of the page is the big AP graphic that shows the starting offense and defense for both teams. The mugs and cutouts include information on key players, as well as those with local ties to Illinois. Nice localization!

The bottom half of the page is a stat nerd's dream. Lots of numbers for both teams, organized and presented neatly in zebra charts. The left rail includes a short on the coin flip and the ever-popular commercials.

In northern Illinois, the Rockford Register Star used an ASF for its Super Bowl advance package.

The package includes TV time, a blurb on Aaron Rodgers winning the NFL MVP Award, a tease to a full page inside and another promo to a story on Rockford-area connections.

Up in Michigan, The Holland Sentinel centerpiece story by Lisa Ermak featured local alternatives to watching the game.

The photo with that story, shot by staffer Kelly Gampel, shows the deserted lobby of a local movie theater. The secondary story is an AP feature on commercials.

State hopping to Canton, Ohio, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and The Repository, a "big gameday" skybox package includes a staff-written piece by Steve Doerschuk and number of content promotions to stories inside.

One of the promos refers readers to the Your Life section that features several photos submitted by readers, as well as a number of quotes about the big game.

That wraps up our look at advance pages. Now let's take a look at coverage of the game. First, we'll look at the papers that featured the game's outcome in the skybox.

We'll begin with a look at The Times-Reporter, which uses the headline "A GIANT REPEAT" against a triumphant Eli Manning photo. The headline refers to the rematch between the teams that met in the Super Bowl in 2008. It's obvious in that headline who won then.

Up the road in Canton, The Repository ran a number of content promotions just below the nameplate. The headline here again refers to the 2008 victory. The smaller, fuller-framed Manning photo is the same used at the top of The Times-Reporter.

The centerpiece is somewhat related to the Super Bowl. The Pro Football Hall of Fame sponsored two running events to coincide with the Super Bowl — the Big Game 10K Race & Touchdown 2-Mile Run/Walk. That's a mouthful, huh?

In Adrian, Mich., The Daily Telegram used the same photo of Manning in its Super Bowl skybox promo ...

... as did The State Journal-Register with its below-the-nameplate skybox. The shaded background here helps it stand out nicely from the rest of the page.

In Canandaigua, N.Y., the Daily Messenger skybox use a photo of local fans with the headline "DEJA BLUE," again referring to the 2008 Super Bowl victory over New England.

In Utica, the Observer-Dispatch took advantage of its deep skybox hole to play up the Giants' victory. Here, the trophy, photo and text are set against a green tint resembling football field, similar to the approach used on the front of its special 8-page section above.

We'll conclude with a look at Super Bowl centerpieces. First up, is the Journal Star.

The 5-column photo of a smiling Manning holding the Lombardi trophy is package with the nice headline "NEW YORK MINUTE." A secondary photo by Taylor Glascock show local Patriots fans reacting to the final seconds of the game. Numbers and promos complete the package.

In Rockford, the Register Star gleefully states in its headline: "Yeah, we know shy you really watched the big game."

Yep, that's a package devoted to Super Bowl commercials. Images showing nine ads create a visual grid for the package. The three legs of text include info on the commercials, the game and the best of the night, which is a snippet about Eli Manning.

Back in Fall River, Mass., The Herald News ran a large AP photo of a dejected Tom Brady walking off the field.

The package served as a giant promo (pun intended) to coverage inside.

The Enterprise used the same photo at what appears to be the original crop, at four columns. The smaller horizontal photo allowed for a local fan story written by staffer Maria Papadopoulos.

The secondary photo by staffer Emily Reynolds shows a local Patriots fan yelling "NOOOO!" at the end of the game.

And that is the end of this post ... NOOO!

What page or pages did you like and why? Send your thoughts to the email address below!

Joe Greco is corporate design director for GateHouse Media.
Contact him at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.