As politicians on both sides of the aisle debate whether Tuesday's election will give the Democrats as spectacular a win as the Republicans managed in the
mid-term elections of 1994, one thing is clear: News designers have plenty to learn from that election 12 years ago.
That morning, Nov. 8, 1994, readers in Detroit were treated to memorable election coverage from not one but two well-designed newspapers -- both
Society for News Design award winners in the organization's 16th annual contest.
These two newspaper front pages are still surprisingly current. The use of
refers, rails, alternate story forms, charts, tables, cutouts and the balance of national, state and local stories are all models for what works well in contemporary newspaper design.
So as you approach your Wednesday morning front pages, keep these principles in mind:
Explain the news, don't just report it. Don't ignore the effect of television and the Internet. Readers who take an active interest in the election results will probably already know the outcomes of most races. What they won't necessarily know are the implications of these results. In 1994, both the
The Detroit News and the
Detroit Free Press packaged news and analysis on their front pages. Their pages
did list who won the highest-profile national, state and local elections, but the pages also left room for analysis to help readers decipher the importance of the 1994 election.
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Tips for Web sites from Poynter's Al Tompkins
• Provide a gathering place for people in your community to talk about the election. For special votes, consider separate chat rooms or bulletin boards for those issues.
• Think shapes, not numbers. Instead of just giving the number of seats each party captures, show a color-coded map of Congress with information about each seat. Make a national clickable map so each district result will be easily viewed with constantly updated numbers. If you can't do this on a national map, at least do this on a state map.
• Consider streaming or podcasting raw acceptance and concession speeches.
• Avoid a stereotypical photo-op picture as your main image. Make it a goal not to show candidates with their hands in the air. Give real journalistic insight. Behind-the-scenes, special-access, powerful moments can define the night.
• Finally, don't forget to make it easy for people to find non-election news, too.
Click here to see Exit Polls: Handle with Care, by Rick Edmonds.
Click here to see Al's Morning Meeting for last-minute election-related story ideas.
Click here to read about Anne Van Wagener's tips on creating election graphics.
Click here to learn more about our visual journalism seminars.
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"Well-Planned and Well-Executed: Election Photojournalism that Worked," by Kenny Irby
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Use different story forms.Reporting the results of an election requires a mix of story lengths and types. Use rails to distill key race outcomes, ballot initiatives or to convey the national picture. Balance traditional narrative against these shorter elements. The
Free Press relied on a Page One rail labeled "Pulse of the Nation" to summarize the national race that year. The
News used a similar set of highlighted information with cutouts to summarize key national races at a glance. This balancing act between written narrative and shorter summary information allows readers with varying amounts of time and levels of interest to find what they're looking for.
Be sure of your numbers.In what figures to be a very contentious election, avoid emphasizing returns unless you are sure the numbers are not likely to change. Instead, refer readers to your Web site or focus on winners and losers as opposed to the exact margins available at press time. Neither the
News nor the
Free Press devoted much front-page real estate to vote totals. Unless the election hangs in the balance by a few votes, the count won't matter -- and if it is that close, you probably won't have accurate numbers. Instead focus on winners, losers and what's next.
Weigh the local, state and national angles.One of the more difficult challenges in telling the story of national mid-term election is striking a balance among the national, state and the local results. Make sure that you represent all three on your election front page. You can do this by labeling and with your story choices. The
News used three different stories -- all played equally -- to describe the situation around the country, throughout Michigan and in Detroit.
Integrate the Web and other media.Make sure to use the other resources available to your readers: television, radio, the Internet, podcasts, blogs, etc. Tell readers where they can find the latest election results or other information not available by press time. Tie your front pages to your Web site. The "Call us now" button the
Free Press ran to give readers late results seems quaint now, but the spirit is still relevant.
Don't forget the importance of graphics.While photos of celebrating politicians are always popular, don't ignore the possibility that graphics may help to tell the part of the story that doesn't revolve around human emotion. Be ready to react to trends. Consider diagramming exit polls against earlier surveys, look for unusual voting patterns, detail the new look of the legislature, compare election results with other mid-term elections or show how the friends of Jack Abramoff/Mark Foley fared in a social networking diagram. Neither of the Detroit newspapers used front-page space for charts or graphics, but the
News did have fairly comprehensive graphics inside that detailed the makeup of both houses of Congress, a national electoral map and state-by-state results.
Finally, make a plan. Make several plans. Make a plan for scrapping your plans.
Recent election nights have proven interesting. Figure out what you will do if there are massive voting irregularities, street protests, polling problems, a Democratic sweep, a huge Republican turnout, major violence in Iraq, hacked voting machines, a significant local upset, etc.... Scheme how you can divide the page and show those mockups to as many designers and editors as you can. Talk about what might happen and what you might do. Make sure that you have the resources in place to be surprised and still react in time.
About the return of The Design Desk: This column has been dormant for nearly seven months. As I revive it, I hope to have a column with a variety of voices from inside and outside of Poynter. It will focus on relevant topics -- and, most importantly, kick-start an ongoing dialogue about visual journalism. If you have ideas or topics you would like to see covered in Design Desk, please e-mail me.
