Browsing through the latest front pages, my eye caught the latest paper from my Alma Mater, The Crimson White at the University of Alabama. The subject matter made me smile - the annual SGA elections. The SGA at UA is not a thing that's ever been taken lightly and the organization itself has quite a history - one that's tangled up with the paper on several occasions.
Student elections is something that a campus newspaper can be depended on to cover every year like clockwork. Sometimes, it can seem boring and repetitive. But it's still one of the biggest events for a campus paper to cover that is actually planned news.
The CW crew turned out a pretty clean page here. There is a clear sense of hierarchy and it's organized well. I love the information graphic that was included about the new residence halls. About the only thing I would had added to it was a pinpoint to a nearby landmark that students would be familiar with. You can see the buildings, but it's different if you're walking by them every day than if you're looking at a locator map. The news is relevant and appeals to a wide range of students. I love the teaser with the green beer as well.
The focus of the critique is looking at how the paper treated the coverage of its campus elections. From here, it's a very feature-type approach. There's some interesting crops shown on the photos, but they're very static. The close crops on the signs work against them here. Students have been seeing these signs for weeks. They know that Mary Margaret Carroll is running for SGA president.
This is followed up by shots from a debate between two of the candidates from February 28. Where are the shots from when the results were announced? If those weren't possible, what about shots of the candidates talking to the reporter afterward? Or even leftover shots of students voting or celebrating? With the timing of the election results usually occurring during class, it can be a struggle to get a photographer there. If not, see if there is a way for the reporter to take a camera herself.
The front page package is also missing numbers and stats from other races. While voter turnout is mentioned in the nut graph and presidential race in the lead paragraph of the story, we don't have any teasers or information about other races. In elections, statistics are very vital. Look at most large daily newspapers. Numbers for all of the races are either located in chart form on the front page or a refer is placed so the reader knows they are somewhere inside the paper.
For an event like this, an effort should be made to have it dominate the front page. Hold stories or move them to the inside to make this happen. Students are interested to see who won or lost because they know these people. These are dormmates, fraternity brothers, sorority sisters, co-workers and classmates.
Finally, there is the usual frame that is used on the bottom right Carroll shot. As mentioned in the last critique, many photographers would be outraged to see their work cropped or altered without knowing about it. The use of an irregular-shaped frame here is another element. It's something that works well for feature stories but should never, ever be used in a breaking news package like this. If there is, there should be a very good reason behind it - not just because you want to do something different. Allow the content to speak for itself. With an election, you'll naturally have tons of it. Tables, charts, the sky's the limit. Even with the pressure of classes and short turnaround time, there were other ways to handle this.
I enjoy the overall look of this paper, and I see what the CW staff is trying to accomplish here - but, unfortunately, I remember what was done in the not-to-distant past with the same content and know what can be accomplished with the type of information an election generates - there is a variety of election newspapers from the recent presidential race to look at that can be accessed at News Page Designer and Newseum. Sadly, as an election follow-up, this edition misses the mark.
