"Obama Wins"

It was incredible to see all of the different headlines and front pages the day after Barack Obama became the president elect of our country. I knew that his face would be on the cover of every American publication, but I was even more excited to see that he made it to the front of international papers as well; however, I can not say that I am that surprised. When I was abroad in Barcelona, Spain last semester, the first thing people would say to me when I told them I was from Chicago or America was “Barack Obama!”

At newseum.org, I found a few front pages that I really enjoyed, and a few that I really did not.

The Tribune from San Luis Obispo, Cali., had a great front page. It caught my attention because even though it featured Obama like the other papers, it was a little different. The picture is of his entire family, which I think is nice because I think seeing our next president with his loved ones shows how change really is coming our way. I also like the lay out and headline of the page. “American History” jumps out at me, rather than seeing another line that says “Obama Wins,” or “Change Has Come.” The lay out is also nice because it features Obama and his family as the center of attention, but also has stories underneath that follow up with the Congressional elections and the Democrat’s majority, which reminds readers that Obama winning was not the only news of the previous night.

The Gwinnett Daily Post from Lawrenceville, Ga., also had a front page I liked. The headline reads “Historic vote,” which shows the importance of Americans coming out and to vote for the first African-American president. The accompanying picture obviously shows that Obama won, so I think that it is nice the headline shows the story at another angle. I also like how the far left column gives the results of other national races, and then elections in Georgia to bring it back home, even on the front cover.

The front page of the San Francisco Examiner from San Francisco, Calif., was not as appealing. When I first saw it, I thought that there had been some kind of background error because the photo showed Obama speaking during daylight, and his acceptance speech was at night. However, when I blew the cover up, I could tell that the shot was not of Obama giving his acceptance speech, just him speaking on another random day. I just think that there had to have been a better shot to use, or some way to get a photographer out to get a shot of the new president.