Choked

Here is the nerd in me: following a major upset by No. 11 VCU over No. 1 KU in the NCAA March Madness tournament, I couldn't wait to see the front page for VCU's hometown newspaper the next day.

While Virginia Commonwealth University bested the University of Kansas by 10 points to move on to the Final Four; KU's hometown newspaper, the Lawrence Journal-World, was the winner in journalism the next day.Normally, I'm not a big fan of the Lawrence Journal World's front pages, but the headlines and photos - all above the fold - told the entire story. What's more, the story on the front page told the local story - beyond the stats of a disappointing game with quotes from tearful players.
The front page is a marketing piece and I have two philosophies on putting together front pages that sell. One is to inform - use the news that affects the most people and break the news in an eye-catching manner. The other is to create a reflection of the community - capture the sentiment of news most already probably know about. The LJW took the latter (and appropriate) approach here.What turns me off the most about the Richmond Times-Dispatch is the headline. "Houston, here we come" is so generic and ran so small. The photo mediocre at best, too. I don't have a problem with a trophy-holding team photo, but in this case I think there was more to shoot at this game. Watching the game on TV, I saw fans with signs like "You're not in Kansas anymore." It was also a very fast-paced, physical game with much emotion on both sides. This photo does not do it justice.

Richmond, Va., has a population of about 200,000 and two universities. KU beat the town's other school - Richmond - two days prior to VCU's upset. I just don't think "Houston, here we come" tells a story, reflects the community's emotion or delivers news.

So the Rock Chalk choke goes to the KU basketball team, but the Richmond news team threw an air ball at the buzzer.