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When a natural disaster of this magnitude hits, readers (and nonreaders alike) are hunkered down, trying to stay safe. When storms pass and they emerge, people want to see what happened. The best way to show them is through photography, which is wll represented on teh apges below. Another significant fact about storms like this that cause wide-spread power outages: Printed newspapers are likely the only place for people find useful local information. These papers and many others defied Mother Nature to produce and deliver newspapers for affected subscribers and others in the community. Great work
Ok, let's take a look at some front pages!...
The Patrot Ledger lead with this fine photo by staffer Greg Derr showing a wave hit the side of a building on the coast of Massachusetts. The silhouettes of the onlookers are framed by the foam and give scale to the action. The editors chose a nice headline to advance the story for readers waking up to the aftermath.Read more about the Patriot Ledger's coverage here.
The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., devoted its front page to the natural disaster. The centerpiece photos by staffer Jack Foley show a lineman working on utility lines damaged by a fallen tree. Foley's secondary shot shows police and fire officials in an emergency center. The massive refer package down the right side promotes no less than 10 related storm stories inside.
More strong photography is seen here atop the Taunton (Mass.) Daily Gazette. The image shot by staffer Mike Gay shows a light pole knocked down by Sandy's winds. Stories related to the hurricane fill out the remaining space on this front page.
Showing tha strong photography is the way to go with stories such as this, The Milford Daily News uses a handful of compelling images on its full-front coverage of the hurricane. The photos on this page — all of them — were shot by staffer Allan Jung. He seemed to be everywhere — on site shooting downed trees and backed-up sewers around town, as well as inside the National Guard Joint Operations Center in Milford. He also was inside a zookeper's home where she was caring for lion cubs out of harm's way. Great job!
The MetroWest Daily News also ran nice local photos. The main image here showing waves crashing against a sea wall in Scituate, Mass., was shot by The Patriot Ledger's Greg Derr. The other photos on page one were both shot by staffer Art Illman. The secondary centerpiece photo shows a resident reacting to a downed tree, while the photo at bottom shows how a local business is fairing.
The Bulletin, further north and east in Norwich, Conn., uses a nice photo that shows a wind-damaged utility pole being attended to by some emergency responders. This one was shot by staffer Aaron Flaum. I really like the ASF that shows the "State at a glance." That piece, along with the graphic on regional power outages by city give this page a lot of punch.
In Keyser, W.V., the Minderal Daily News Tribune gave its front page to hurricane coverage. Staffer Richard Kerns wrote the main local story and shot the photo that ran with it. An AP story used a nice satellite image of the storm. (Don't forget to credit the photos, folks!)
Winds from this massive hurricane were felt in places far away from the East Coast. Case in point is this next group of papers in north central Ohio. First up, The Independent. The headline and its layers inform readers on area preparednes. The photo by staffer Glenn Dettman shows someone fumbling with a not-so-sturdy umbrella.
The Times-Reporter out of New Philadelpha, Ohio, also made the storm its centerpiece. The compelling AP photo used here shows people trudging and paddling down a flooded Lindenhurst, N.Y., street.
Rounding out this roundup of hurricane front pages is this one by The Repository out of Canton, Ohio, a place that also felt Sandy's whipping winds. Here, another stellar AP was used that shows downtown Atlantic City, N.J. The eye of the storm made landfall just five miles from the city.
Joe Greco is corporate design director for GateHouse Media.
Contact him at jgreco@gatehousemedia.com.
