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In big days of history newspapers step up to do what that medium often does best; throw down a historical marker of a front page, aiming for impact to leave you breathless. The aim was the same the day the US Capitol was breached. But much else was different+
In big days of history newspapers step up to do what that medium often does best; throw down a historical marker of a front page, aiming for impact to leave you breathless. The aim was the same the day the US Capitol was breached. But much else was different+
Same: Search for a powerful image to play big, to capture the moment or the feeling of the time. You don't know until you see it, then you see it, and wow. Then, a headline to say it all, paired with that knockout image in a stunning design. Simple? No! But it happens *chef kiss+
Different: let’s start with the photos. There were many to choose from, all strong, all speaking to a different part of the events of the day. We tried many on a draft front, like these four+
And this one too. They all told part of the story. But none seemed to quite tell enough of the story on its own. So, OK! Maybe it just hasn’t met the right headline to get the perfect match, so...+
Let’s talk headlines! We had some top contenders, like these two, pictured. Many others were considered, among them:
Capitol under siege
Democracy under siege
Assault on democracy
Capitol hell
My unused favourite, requiring the right image:
All the President’s Men.
But+
Capitol under siege
Democracy under siege
Assault on democracy
Capitol hell
My unused favourite, requiring the right image:
All the President’s Men.
But+
Like the photos, all great photos, none of them seemed quite right. I spent many hours last night trying to understand why. So many we missed deadline (don’t tell). Then more hours today. Since I should get over it, here’s what I have concluded to date+
Reason 1: The day had an amazing amount happen in it. It started with the Georgia results. Moved on to the growing mob, then surging mob. Then Congress evacuated, the mob inside, a historic breach. Security/police guns drawn. A woman shot, dead. The mob dispersing, curfew+
A late-night resumption of Congress and the eventual certification of the Joe Biden electoral win. All that. Democracy, assault on democracy, democracy struggling back. Four dead. In one day. And not all before deadline. So, phew. But that wasn’t the only thing. So+
Reason 2 is likely the crux of it. Something huge happened. Something destructive, insidious, alarming, capital H historic. It should be shocking, even if for many reasons it was not surprising. The words & images should appall. So why did no words, no image seem to suffice?+
Scroll back up in this thread for the answer. Those words: Assault on democracy, democracy under siege. How many times in how many contexts could they have been used over the last four years? Or the images+
Large crowds outside the White House. Guns drawn. Barricades. Anger. There were definite differences, obvious ones. A once incredibly powerful symbol of democracy was under attack. In the midst of the process of a peaceful transfer of power. The event is itself is enormous+
But the words to describe that enormous breach, the images, or ones similar, have been seen too often to adequately convey what happened. I never considered that on this steady slope you could come to a stunning climax and find the descriptors have in some way been squeezed dry+
So, what did we do? Basically, as it happens, about what everyone else did. Headlines and images across North America ran in three basic camps. We had two of those, in an early edition & a later one. We tried to use words, like insurrection, that haven’t been used in these years+
And images inside the Capitol because those things were never supposed to happen inside those walls. We used secondary art because one photo couldn’t capture the breadth of this sprawling day, or the depth of the symbolic and physical trespass+
But I am still shaken by how the steady normalization of things that are not normal made it hard at the moment of tearing to adequately express not just the news of what had happened, but the broader moment and meaning of it. So that, good and bad, is how the page came together+
I know someone (
) is going to ask why we spent so much time focusing on an event outside our country, so:
1 - a direct democratic assault on our closest (and massive) neighbour is relevant and important
2 - tomorrow’s front is powerful and local. We can multitask around here+
) is going to ask why we spent so much time focusing on an event outside our country, so:1 - a direct democratic assault on our closest (and massive) neighbour is relevant and important
2 - tomorrow’s front is powerful and local. We can multitask around here+
If you’ve come this far, you’re a champ. Thank you. Many thanks to the @TorontoStar team who worked on this & the digital work. Especially @thekeenanwire who filed, well, often. And now, like all days in journalism, that is history. Onwards. Always onwards.
