Front page news stories are meant to grab the reader's attention. Of course, the front page is reserved important national news and historic events. However, when there is not anything better to report on, the front page is usually tailored to human interest. While some tabloids remain committed to reserving the front page for news they consider most important, a lot of what goes on display is simply meant to catch the eye of prospective readers. After all, news companies have to sell their papers somehow when placed side by side with the competition.
After browsing the front-page archives on Newseum.org, I noticed a lot of the papers were split pretty 50/50 between positive, lighthearted headlines and less hopeful, yet gripping headlines. On some papers, front page headlines talked about great things going on in their communities such as “Wildcats Dominate Playoffs,” and “Making an impact: Co-op Education program Growing.” Others displayed headlines such as “She Should Be Here,” referring to a separated family due to the travel ban, and “Man Killed in Car Crash.” (Newseum)
According to a series of surveys conducted by Michael Robinson, the five main interests of readers revolve around "war, weather, disaster, money, and crime." (Greenslade) I can definitely see this reflected in the types of articles that make it to the front page of many papers. Even if it was not the main headline, almost every single paper included some sort of weather-related section or article on the front page. This similarity is by no mistake. Companies are giving people what they want to read.
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Source:
Greenslade, Roy. “The Good News about Bad News - It Sells.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Sept. 2007, www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2007/sep/04/thegoodnewsaboutbadnewsi.
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