One of the things I love most about this job is that every day I get to sit here and put together our signature page. That would be Page One.
It is without question the most important decision I make here every day. That is because we use that front page to sell the newspaper.
Last Friday, we got word of a very special event that was going to take place at Linwood Elementary School in Lower Chichester.
A local soldier who had been serving during his second tour in Iraq was going to pay a visit to the school and surprise his two sons in their reading class.
My mind immediately started thinking about a front page. The result is the newspaper we printed on Saturday.
There were several other important stories going on Friday. A gunman went on a rampage, killing 14 people including himself in Binghamton, N.Y. The region also was buzzing as Villanova prepared to play North Carolina in the Final Four on Saturday night.
But it was going to take a lot more than that to deter my vision of that front page. Of course, that decision became even more cemented when I saw the photo captured by staff photographer Bob Gurecki. It was exactly what I had in mind.
Marine Cpl. Jason Smith was hugging his two sons, Jason Jr., and Gary, who were stunned when he showed up in their class.
The only thing left was to formulate a headline. Really only one word stuck in my head.
I decided to create an overline to sum up the scene. It state simply, “Soldier & Sons Reunion.”
We used one word to sum up the scene: Dad!
The look on the faces of Jason Smith’s two boys told you everything you needed to know about the emotion of that moment.
Some days I love this job.
It is without question the most important decision I make here every day. That is because we use that front page to sell the newspaper.
Last Friday, we got word of a very special event that was going to take place at Linwood Elementary School in Lower Chichester.
A local soldier who had been serving during his second tour in Iraq was going to pay a visit to the school and surprise his two sons in their reading class.
My mind immediately started thinking about a front page. The result is the newspaper we printed on Saturday.
There were several other important stories going on Friday. A gunman went on a rampage, killing 14 people including himself in Binghamton, N.Y. The region also was buzzing as Villanova prepared to play North Carolina in the Final Four on Saturday night.
But it was going to take a lot more than that to deter my vision of that front page. Of course, that decision became even more cemented when I saw the photo captured by staff photographer Bob Gurecki. It was exactly what I had in mind.
Marine Cpl. Jason Smith was hugging his two sons, Jason Jr., and Gary, who were stunned when he showed up in their class.
The only thing left was to formulate a headline. Really only one word stuck in my head.
I decided to create an overline to sum up the scene. It state simply, “Soldier & Sons Reunion.”
We used one word to sum up the scene: Dad!
The look on the faces of Jason Smith’s two boys told you everything you needed to know about the emotion of that moment.
Some days I love this job.
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