It is that time of the week again. It is time to look at my favorite newspaper front page of the week.
As always, I culled through the front pages shown at Newseum.org and picked my favorite.
So here it is:
The Decatur Daily
The Decatur Daily in Decatur, Ala., did something pretty cool on Sunday. They put mug shots of 73 people arrested for selling drugs on the front page.
First, this is a great idea. It shows that a crackdown on drug selling is taking place. Of course, as the article points out, it isn’t clear if getting this many dealers off the streets will have a long-lasting impact on the drug business, but at least steps are being made to do so.
From a design aspect, it is quite appealing. It jumps out right away because by just glancing at all the pictures makes a person want to look closer to see what it is all about. The large headline — ‘Behind Bars’ — helps pull the reader in.
Also, giving such a treatment to this type of story puts a face on the crime, which could help the drug problem to be eroded.
The rest of the page is pretty typical, especially for a Sunday edition complete with the value of all the coupons are included inside, but the centerpiece package about the drug dealers is a gem. It’s very creative and something other papers should replicate to truly perform their duties as watchdogs of society. This shines a bright spotlight on a community problem, and it is wonderful.
