It's a front page for the ages. You know it instantly when you see it: Barack Obama's face, close up, in black and white, with the words "Mr. President" in the bottom right corner.
Most other newspapers documented Obama's victory with powerful images of Obama and his family celebrating in Chicago's Grant Park. The editors at the
Chicago Sun-Times decided to go in a completely different direction.
It turns out they had made the decision a week earlier. In an edited e-mail interview, Michael Cooke, editor-in-chief of the
Sun-Times, offered this glimpse behind the scenes.
Huang: The Sun-Times' election front page is striking for its simplicity and elegance. How would you describe your approach to this front page, and how did you decide to use the black and white photo and bold headline? Where did the Obama photo come from? Cooke: We wanted to do something different. Something that would capture the moment that this city has been waiting for -- and expecting -- for nearly two years. (We expected that) the opposition, the
Chicago Tribune, would print the ordinary podium shot. I wanted us to stand out. But it was a risk.
Our front page editor, James Smith, brought me the finished front page a week before the glorious night of Grant Park, and I knew instantly it would become iconic. The Obama photo, for which James searched for days, came from the
Corbis photo agency and was taken by renowned photographer
Brooks Kraft. Yes, the picture was strong, but it was James merging his simple yet powerful words and display of "Mr. President" with the photo that made this page the sensation that it has become.
Can you describe any alternative ideas you had for the election front page? And what was your plan had the election gone the other way? Cooke: In the two weeks leading to the election, it was clear -- yes, clear -- that Obama was going to win. We had no alternative ideas for the main display. If John McCain had pulled off a miracle, we would have gone with the routine display...
I've read about Chicagoans lining up outside the Sun-Times' plant to buy the paper on the morning after the election. How would you describe the response to this historic front page? Since you're one of Obama's hometown papers, did you feel your approach to the cover had to have special resonance?Cooke: The response was way, way beyond what we expected. We knew it would be big. But this -- and
what Oprah said -- shot the paper into another world. People continue to clamor for copies of the edition, as well as posters, coffee mugs, etc. James told me when he initially presented me with the page that this would hang in the homes of Chicagoans for years to come. I know history will prove him to be correct.
