Why Did My Newspaper Do That?
Ray Lamont
November 29, 2008 05:00 am The front pages of the Times have had a bit of a sporting look to them the last three days, if I say so myself. Each of those days, local sports stories and, or photos were given prominent "play," not only in the Sports section, but on our front page. While Wednesday's Times featured extensive preview coverage of the Thanksgiving Day football games, our story across the top of Page 1 announced plans for Gloucester to host its first triathlon next August — with participants ready to sign up as early as this Monday for an event that should draw elite athletes from throughout New England and the Northeast. Thursday's paper — the Thanksgiving Day edition — featured a colorful scene from Gloucester High's football rally, with cheerleader Lily McCarthy soaring in the air after being tossed aloft by members of the football team. And yesterday's Times had classic "cutout" photos of Gloucester's Dylan Maki and Manchester Essex' Ben Kekeisen on the run in their teams' impressive Thanksgiving Day victories. Now, those same front pages featured other local news headlines as well. Wednesday's edition, for example, also had stories about Rockport's bank vote and the story about Gloucester's employee unions; Thursday's edition led with Richard Gaines' piece on the city's police chief defending his department's case against activist Stevan Goldin. But, for this week at least, the sports world stepped forward to become front page news more often than usual. And you may indeed have wondered, why did your community's newspaper do that? Because this week, more than most, Sports is a big part of our local news scene — for several reasons, Taking Wednesday's edition first, the announcement of plans to hold a Gloucester Triathlon next Aug. 9 is indeed an announcement — and an event — that transcends sports. On the surface, the event is part of a three-race New England series in one of the most demanding sports competitions — with athletes having to swim, cycle and run over a Gloucester course of 19 miles. But it also looms as having enormous potential for Gloucester tourism, with hundreds of competitors and their families coming to town to participate in an event that centers on the city's downtown — and, in particular, St. Peter's Square. The triathlon will also serve as a fund-raiser for the Gloucester Fishermen's Athletic Association and Wellspring House, adding to the news elements of the story. But above all, the triathlon stands as not just a new, top-shelf local sporting event, but an extraordinary community event that should cast the city in a positive spotlight across New England, and around the nation. That's Page 1, top-of-the-page in my book. Thursday's paper showcased one factor I always believe has to be considered when it comes to front-page coverage: What are people talking about? And you would have been hard-pressed to find a home on Thursday in which the talk didn't focus on either Thanksgiving dinner or football. To that end, we wanted to somehow highlight our local Thanksgiving Day football games, and the best way to do that was to show scenes from Wednesday's pep rally — which, in terms of school spirit — really transcends sports as well. It helped, of course, that photographer Kate Glass' image of high-flying Gloucester High School cheerleader Lily McCarthy made for a captivating and happy shot to brighten up the holiday paper. The same goes for the photo packages on Page 1 — as well as on our Sports front page and inside sports page — in yesterday's paper providing coverage of the games, with the Fishermen and Hornets both rolling to impressive victories. Just because types of news — Sports, Arts and Entertainment, Business and the like — have their own sections in the Times doesn't mean they don't sometimes deserve front-page attention, And while Sports coverage may, to some, seem to focus on scores and games, it is, indeed more than that. High school sports, after all, teach us all about teamwork, about sportsmanship and dealing with victory and defeat. Major local sports stories are often the successes of our young people. And some sporting events can indeed bring other benefits to our communities. They are, in other words, the types of news and event stories that belong on Page 1 — and that especially seemed to be the case this week. As always, let me know what you think, Questions? Comments? Do you have an issue you'd like to see addressed in a future column? Contact Times Editor Ray Lamont at rlamont@gloucestertimes.com.
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