Tribune's LaRoche layout

Didn't say not to go big with the centerpiece.
Was there a lot of new stuff with their Sunday centerpiece of the first week?

 

I like it. Breaks out of cookie-cutter mode and puts faces to the story.

 

Wenalway just punched a wall and doesn't know why.

 

Was thinking the same thing early on in the thread. HELMETS!

 

It's all that anyone here is talking about.

 

That's not true. They get pretty much equal coverage and play here.

 

You don't have to give a shit about the White Sox, baseball, or sports to be interested in this story.

Everyone has an opinion about it.

And, if you have a USA Today column, you can share your opinion, and present it as fact.

 

My comment was made half in jest to add some levity to the proceedings. Obviously, you're there and have first-rate credibility on the subject. But I'd argue that historically, it hasn't always been the case. And it's understandable -- the Cubs have been the dominant team there since the early '80s in terms of attendance and TV ratings (along with the fact that Tribune owned them for about 30 years).

As for the design, I'll never fault anyone for trying something different, even if it might not work in the final analysis. One complaint I hear from those of us still fortunate enough to have desk jobs is that we're sometimes discouraged from being as creative as we used to be, whether designing pages or writing headlines.

 

I think the design is impactful on a certain level. But at the risk of coming off as nitpicking, I'm wondering if the display actually accomplishes what it attempts. I realize the subject had been a hot topic, but does the headline treatment sell the actual story? Does the casual observer who might be inclined to be interested in the topic recognize this as an Adam LaRoche father/son saga story? It being the sports cover, perhaps it does. But there's an argument to be made it wouldn't work as well on A1, and isn't that the appeal of this story in the first place? I like the chance they took with the cover. But there's nothing above the fold that truly teases the reader to the story.

 

Well, since the words spell out Adam LaRoche, I think you're safe on that one. Display type is a big part of design, and the subhead spells out the LaRoche connection. People read more than just the main headline.