The key lesson here is that the editors in Raleigh got past believing that comics take away space from the “great issues of the day.” A well-balanced comics page deals with the “great issues” better than any other page of the paper. That’s right, even better than the front page, which is almost all breaking news, and the opinion page, which has a limit of subjects it can cover each day. The comics page reaches readers on a different level and touches them more deeply than all the stories in the paper that day — all while delivering the message in an entertaining way.
So before you dismiss changing your comics as too frivolous, too time-consuming, or too hard for readers to accept, think about what was accomplished in Raleigh by an editor who took his page seriously and gave it the attention it deserved.
“Change” isn’t just a buzzword in the political realm. Do something that will get YOUR newspaper a highlight on Romenesko. And while we’re at it … Thad Ogburn for President!!
Thad Ogburn for President
4 thoughts on “Thad Ogburn for President”
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I’ll third it!
Let’s hope others follow suit and this turns into a trend.
Hmmm…editors are starting to notice that readers really like the comics and that for many of them, the comics are the only reason they continue to subscribe. I understand also that the world is NOT flat, and that the bright, shiny object in the sky is called “the sun.”
I hope this sweeps the industry and other papers take notice! Expand the comics and expand your readship! Is this rocket science?
“A well-balanced comics page deals with the â??great issuesâ? better than any other page of the paper.”
No truer words have ever been spoken about the comics page. Which begs the question, is “truer” a real word?
We need many more Thads around the country.