More bills to make you smile ... and wince

Since my piece on the art of newspaper bill writing and its follow-ups here and here, I have been sent many more examples, some new and some old, but all worth an airing. So here's an update. 

One of the best recent ideas I have come across is tweeting the bills each evening, as The Northern Echo does, to encourage readers to buy the paper and visit its website. A neat transition from old print methods to the digital ways - and a simple and effective method of reaching a new audience.

Another example of creativity comes from the Nottingham Post where the bill was given a new dimension altogether. Singer/songwriter Ronika featured in the paper and online in a Q&A on her eating habits. Rather just bill it, the paper persuaded the singer to sit alongside the poster with a plate of food. The bill as performance art - certainly a new one on me.

It reflects the enthusiasm for bills by consultant editor Alan Geere who tweeted the picture above with the comment 'Still love going out to see the #bills wot I wrote and people buying the @Nottingham_Post.'

There are some good examples of ambiguous bills kicking around and this one from the Standard deserves to join the collection. I wonder if it was deliberate.

I think my favourite of the recent bills, is this from the Bristol Post. It seems like a lenient sentence to me. 

Names, particularly of famous people, will often tease people to buy so a good effort here from the South Wales Evening Post.

Animal stories sell too (just ask the Daily Mail). Here are a few worth a mention. A tortoise called Adolf? Really? Not too sure whether the animal porn story would be to many tastes - but it sounds so shocking it might just tempt someone to pick up a paper.

I can honestly say I have never seen pot-pourri used in a bill before - and in Hull of all places.

Of course the art of the bill is to tease the reader to buy. Here are a couple that might just work. The 'rub a dub dub' bill is from the Cheddar Valley Gazette. What on earth can it mean? Buy the paper to find out. That's the idea.

Sometimes bills can be so surprising and bizarre that they will turn potential readers' heads as they walk past - and that's half the battle.  

That said, I'm not sure this one would shift many papers. 

Sex, something we tend to hold at arm's length in regional newspapers, is a proven seller. These will certainly have aroused curiosity. The last one is from the Leicester Mercury.

The Argus in Brighton which brought us such classics as 'Window cleaner killed by giant pencil' and 'Crow steals golfer's trolley' appears to adopt a novelty approach to its bill writing. Although some of these may be old, they are still worth a look. The last one shows an interesting approach to positioning - a bill about a man choking to death on a kebab outside a kebab shop. 

I am a big fan of bills. Using five words to persuade some-one who wasn't going to buy the paper (or visit the website) to change their mind is a great art. Keep them coming and I'll use them in the next instalment.

Headline slip-up of the day

Not sure that 'Care home goes bananas for Fruity Friday' is really the most thoughtful headline I have ever seen - especially when the home in question 'provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care.' Thanks to @SophieJane_E for forwarding. 

 

Four funny fonts films

If you are interested in typography (which you should be) and even if you think you're not, you need to watch the History of Type - an Animated Short by Ben Barrett-Forrest. It covers everything from Gutenberg's original Blackletter typeface to creating your own fonts on a computer - all in 5 minutes 10 seconds.  Brilliantly done - and funny too.

It joins my list of all time favourite typography shorts. These include the excellent tribute to Neutra Face by Lady Gaga. "You can read my Neutra Face, (even when it's bold italics)" to the tune of Poker Face. Stirring stuff.

Then there is the fonts conference with typefaces given human personalities. Baskerville is 'a shrivelled bastard,' Futura a space girl and Century Gothic a modern goth with attitude. Only problem is that it's Comic Sans who saves the day. What are they trying to tell us?
This video led to my family recognising people they knew by their typographical traits. I like to think I'm a cross between Utopia Bold and Avant Garde. My kids think I'm more Goudy Heavyface and my wife definitely likes to think of me as Minion. Which one are you?

From the same stable, CollegeHumor, is the fight to the death between Helvetica's gang and Arial's gang. Watch it here.  "Arial. I haven't seen you since you cloned me and stole my identity. I've been waiting for this day for 26 years." This time, though, Comic Sans reverts to type.
It all serves as a reminder that typography isn't just for geeks ... it's fascinating and it's funny. Really.

Sir Alex dominates the front pages

It's rare that a sports story makes it on to every national front page … the tabloids and the qualities. But Sir Alex Ferguson deserves it. The best manager English football has ever seen. I say it through gritted teeth of course. He out-psyched Kevin Keegan and probably robbed me of ever seeing Newcastle United being league champions. More recently he referred to Newcastle as a 'wee club in the North-East'. Ouch. But there is no disputing his record. He was simply the best.

The Manchester Evening News, as expected, pulled out all of the stops with a special late edition yesterday afternoon - real evening paper stuff. It carried a dignified, respectful photograph of Sir Alex with a breaking news banner, 'Sir Alex quits'.

This morning it carries a bumper edition with a 32-page souvenir tribute. It should certainly sell out - at least in one half of the city. The MEN, like many newspapers, goes for a play on Fergie Time - a neat and pointed reference to Sir Alex's successor, David Moyes.

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Fergie Time is everywhere today so credit to The Daily Telegraph, which first speculated that the Glaswegian's reign was over, for being first with the headline as well as the story. This was the front page of its sports section yesterday morning. 

The Evening Standard, like the MEN, went for a breaking-news headline as the speculation became reality. It was a classic evening newspaper story. The Standard simply used 'Fergie Quits' with a great picture of the man in triumphant pose. Even in London, the Manchester manager was massive news.

Of today's front pages, The Sun has the most original image … a Red Devils' hairdryer hung-up in the Old Trafford dressing room for the very last time. No blurb, no second story … respect indeed. It's bold and nicely done. What the non-footballing readers will make of it is anyone's guess - but a classy page nonetheless.  

The Daily Star also went for the Fergie Time line … but it is really selling on something else altogether. Football and a naked Kate Moss - almost the perfect Star front.

The other angle, perhaps a more subtle one than the Fergie Time pun, is that Sir Alex is quitting for the sake of his wife. The Daily Mirror and Daily Express don't feel the story is worthy of the lead … there was after all the Tia Sharp murder trial and the Queen's speech to deal with ... but both give Lady Ferguson a deserved front page moment. 

It is no surprise that the Daily Mail chooses not to lead on Sir Alex ... you would be hard pushed to find many football splashes in the paper's history. It gives the story main picture prominence though. The Mail also goes for the female touch - Cathy by her man's side - and suggests he might be elevated to the peerage.

The Guardian uses a strong, vertically cropped and beaming picture of Sir Alex with a lively blurb promising a 20-page supplement. 

The Daily Telegraph also uses a blurb promising a 16-page pullout - labelled simply The Greatest, with contributions by Henry Winter, Paul Hayward and Alan Hansen. Sounds like a must-buy. It uses a dignified photo, on the left rather than the right, to give it more depth and put it squarely in the page's entry point. There's a nice quote too: 'He could have been a great leader in any field he chose. Manchester United were lucky he chose football.'

The icing on the cake in the Telegraph comes with Matt - as dry as ever.

The Times, perhaps surprisingly, limits the story to the blurb. I was half-expecting a wraparound.

Still, there's a quality 12-page pullout to look forward to.

  

The i also relegates Fergie to the blurb. There is, let's not forget, the small matter of the Queen's speech.

Football of course is also a big business story - a point not missed by The Independent: '£80m wiped off shares by the end of Fergie Time.'

Sir Alex also makes it on to the front pages of the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. A rare occasion indeed.

In the sports sections there is only one story. Well done again the Telegraph, which has been ahead of the story throughout. The Chosen One is a good headline, used by others on the back pages, but it is the picture that makes it. Perfect choice.

The Telegraph goes big on pictures inside too, including this season-by-season spread on Sir Alex's record. Nice.

They are as committed to Premier League football over the water, as we are in England ... so no surprise that the Irish titles went to town too. Here's a strong cover from the Irish Independent's 12-page tribute supplement. Using the stats on Page 1 is a nice touch: '104 players bought' and '14 Manchester City managers seen off'.

There are some cracking pages today, marking the end of a 26-year era and the beginning of another. Hopefully, it will be one that sees other teams finally having a crack at Premier League domination. Newcastle United perhaps ...

Hat tip to #tomorrowspaperstoday, @suttonnick 

Fundraising in memory of Mel

Many of us are still reeling from the fact that Mel Cook, editor of the Nottingham Post, is no longer with us. Mel died more than a month ago and his funeral was packed to the rafters with the great and the good of regional newspapers. If you missed the tribute to him, it is here. Now his partner Helen (pictured with Mel) is working hard to ensure his memory burns brightly. Helen and Mel's paper are marking his birthday, November 8, by sponsoring a day at Maggie's, a cancer support centre in the grounds of Nottingham City Hospital. Friends, family and colleagues are trying to raise at least £2,400, the amount it costs a day to support patients at the centre. Some of the Post's staff have already organised a cake sale, others are competing in the Ikano Robin Hood half-marathon and there will be a vintage tea party. If you knew Mel, and even if you didn't, here are a couple of dates for the diary - a fundraising barbecue on the August 24 and a charity ball on April 1 next year, the anniversary of Mel's death. 

A friend of Mel's jumped out of a plane on Sunday and one of his nieces is running the Race For Life in his memory. Helen's reasons for the campaign are clear: 'Even during his own adversity and distress he wanted more than anything to help others suffering this terrible disease, emotionally and physically. By marking this event in honour of Mel to raise much needed funds his legacy and spirit lives on to help others.'

If you have any ideas on how to support Helen, please let me know and I will pass them on. And if you want to make a donation to the Post's fundraising page, you can do so here.   

Tabloid headlines of the month

Those subs who believe their headlines should sing were out in force in April. Here are a couple of crackers that caught the eye.

The Sun has a long track record of song title headlines, of course, but I can't imagine the Ulster Gazette uses many. When it does, it certainly does so in style.

Meanwhile the New York Post refuses to shy away from being overtly tabloid - and shocking. Here is a headline to add to the growing collection to make you smile or, perhaps, wince.

This though was perhaps the most astonishing front page headline of the month. Who could have predicted The Sun (or anybody else for that matter) would come up with such a bizarre collection of words following the death of Margaret Thatcher.

And if you are looking for headlines that 'build a picture in the reader's mind', this one from Mail Online takes some beating.

Treasure of a story buried in the small print

This cracking story from the North Devon Journal, that grew like topsy yesterday, is an excellent example of how important it is for journalists to constantly monitor the community correspondents' section. Over the years I have uncovered some gems - the man who scored two goals on his debut even though he had a wooden leg, the player who scored 14 goals and his team lost, the waitress whose life was saved by a tin of pineapple chunks.

Yesterday's story began as a simple, and very funny, paragraph in the village news section which was Tweeted by head of content Owen Jones. Owen claimed it was the 'best local newspaper WI report ever' ... and who could argue? 

He, and the Journal team, quickly realised the potential of the story and ran the follow-up, along with a picture and some lovely quotes on the thisisnorthdevon website. 

Captain Darch took it all in his stride:  “Of course I didn’t take offence or mind. It was more like the Pirates of Penzance." And the WI treasurer, whose idea it was that the ladies should dress up as pirates, said: “I don’t know who was scarier for Captain Darch - us dressed up as pirates or the real Somali pirates."

Never mind Stuart Hall, the elections, Europa League semi-finals or even the burglar's body found in a chimney in a solicitor's office in Derby. This was the story of the day.

It appeared on every national newspaper website and made its way across the globe within hours. 

The BBC even ran a video.

And of course such a great story was also bound to make it into print in most of today's papers ... a picture lead in The Times no less.

My only disappointment is that it wasn't raised on BBC Question Time last night although, as NDJ production editor Pat Keenor Tweeted today, it did make the Chris Evans Breakfast Show and got a mention on Have I Got News For You.

Great fun, a smart recovery by the NDJ newsroom and a fine example of the importance of scouring the village correspondents, the parish newsletters and classified for stories.