Sunday, December 24, 2006
Ah, the holiday paper
So, in the news business *looks pompous* we got this thing called "the breakfast table test." When you're putting things on the front page, you've got to imagine Joe Public eating breakfast, reading the paper. Will he take a sip of coffee and then spit it out, seeing your picture of a man severing a turkey's head? (We had that photo, a while ago. It didn't run on the front, much to our disappointment.) Generally, we put the lurid stuff on the inside pages, when we have it. But this isn't about the breakfast table test; this is about what I'd like to call "the Christmas tree test." What would your family like to read about while recovering from the morning's gift orgy? Today in the paper (for tomorrow, Christmas Day) we have:
Yay! I ... I think we fail. Merry Christmas, everybody!
- Girl, 2, stabbed to death by 9-year-old;
- Man shot, killed after fight at shopping mall;
- A local boy, 8, who had a sudden relapse of cancer and died unexpectedly.
Yay! I ... I think we fail. Merry Christmas, everybody!
