The Chicago Sun-Times is often spot on with their headlines, but today's Obama head was a bit of a stretch. Still, their headline and cropping had more impact than the Chicago Tribune. The Sunday Register Star had Obama barking at a text box. The Daily Herald had a better photo.

The Journal Register's lead headline didn't clear the fold, making it ineffective for single-copy sales. It had the biggest photo, but the least impact because the image of Obama was too small. In this 6-column photo, Obama's face was no larger than a pea.

All too often, editors want to show the crowd rather than focus on the subject of the story. According to Alex Burrows, director of photography at The Virginian-Pilot: "Editors spend too much time in their offices. They insist on running photos of crowds because they've never seen one."

The Sunday Telegram and the Sunday Standard-Times went big with cutouts that seem to defy gravity. Images like these appear more natural when they are "grounded" in heavy rules or the edge(s) of the page.

The Oakland Tribune went psychedelic. The Sunday Bulletin had the biggest thermometer. The Charlotte Sun had the biggest fruit. The Herald had a full-page graphic, reminiscent of this one from the Winston-Salem Journal. The Oregonian went big with…well, see for yourself.

Today's BFD is a tie between The Palm Beach Post and a late arrival from the Sun Journal.

Thie Post's page works for several reasons: the main headline is clear and clears the fold for effective single-copy presentation. It also serves as an "umbrella" to indicate that all elements beneath it are related. Secondary heads directly beneath the main head provide important information to time-starved readers. The map is an effective story-telling tool – it shows better than the text can tell. A cushion of white space separates the main package from unrelated content.

The Sun Journal's page works for most of the same reasons. The Sun Journal's main head and promo head were more engaging, but they were also more ambiguous.

Room for improvement:, The Post's above-the-nameplate promos try to do too much, using too many words and too many small images. Better promos appeared in today's Chicago Tribune. The best promos appeared in the Sunday Post-Dispatch.


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