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Presidential Debate
« Front Page Coverage
Front Page Coverage of the First
Presidential Debate
| Below is a summary of how the first presidential debate
was covered on the front pages
of twenty of the top U.S.
newspapers (according to Burrelles Luce). The newspapers were
viewed the Newseum Today's Front Pages website (+). The debate was the lead story in all but a
couple of
the papers, and the headlines
show Romney as the winner (seizing the offense, taking the fight to
Obama, battering Bam...).
Several papers picked up New York
Times, Washington Post or
AP
articles.
Photos showed the candidates before, during and
after the debate. Five of the twenty papers ran separate shots of
the two
candidates side by side. One of the more interesting images is a
Michael Reynolds pool photo showing Obama and
Romney shaking hands at the end of
the debate, the crowd in the background
and in the left side of the frame moderator Jim Lehrer just getting out
of his chair. Four papers (Wall
Street Journal, USA Today,
the
Washington Post and the
Star Tribune) ran this
image on
page one; however the three national papers
cropped Lehrer out and only the Star
Tribune ran an uncropped image
showing Lehrer in the frame as well. Indeed Lehrer only appeared
in two of the front page images, the other being the New York Times, which ran the most
straight documentary type image, a head-on shot of the two candidates
at their podiums during the debate. |
| Newspaper |
Headlines/Reporters |
Photos/Photographers |
| The Wall Street Journal |
"Candidates Spar Over Taxes:
Obama, Romney Lay Out Differing Views of Government, Regulation,
Deficit Cuts" - Carol E. Lee and Sara Murray |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium
shot
of
Obama and Romney shaking hands at the end of
the debate, crowd in the background - Michael Reynolds/Associated Press
* |
| USA Today |
"Romney seizes offense on Obama's
economic record: President chides challenger for lack of
specifics" - Richard Wolf |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium shot of Obama and Romney shaking
hands at the end of the
debate, crowd in the background - Michael Reynolds/Associated Press * |
| New York Times |
"Obama and Romney, in First Debate, Spar
Over Fixing the Economy: Feel of Seminar as Accusations
Fly From Rivals" - Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium wide shot from during the debate of
Romney and Obama at their podiums (Obama gesturing) and moderator Jim
Lehrer, back to camera, seated, in the middle of the frame - Doug
Mills/The New York Times |
| Los Angeles Times |
"Showdown in Denver"
[teaser under photo;
refers to page AA1] |
Medium
shot
of
Obama
and
Romney
on stage waving after the debate - Win
McNamee, Getty Images |
| Daily News (New York) |
"Mitt's A Hit! Rocks Obama in
1st debate" [this is a teaser
in the upper right corner of the front page; refers readers to
pages 6-8] |
Tabloid: dominant, lead photo and
story "Let me die" Secondary images (2): separate medium cut-outs of Romney and Obama (2 photos) - AP; Reuters |
| San Jose Mercury News |
[Top
story
is:
A's
amazing
run
exemplifies magic of sports] "Economic clash at center stage - Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg/New York Times |
Domninant
image,
but
below
the
fold:
MCU of Obama and Romney on stage smiling
after the debate; looks like Obama's hand is on Romney's back - Jason
Reed/Reuters |
| New York Post | "DIRECT MITT: Romney batters Bam in first debate" [teaser
refers to pages 4, 5, 6 & 7] |
Tabloid:
dominant,
lead
photos (2): Separate medium cut-outs of Romney
and Obama (2 photos) - Getty Images |
| Washington Post | "Romney takes fight to Obama:
President Defends His Record: In first debate, both aim for the
undecided" - Dan Balz and Amy Gardner "Challenger gains traction on pivotal issue" - Karen Tumulty ...BELOW THE FOLD... "We have a new race" - Dan Steinberg |
Dominant, lead photo: Medium shot of Obama and Romney shaking hands at the end of the debate, crowd in the background - Michael Reynolds/Pool * |
| Chicago Sun-Times |
"One Has Reason to Smile (And It's
Not the President): How Romney took it to Obama" [teaser refers to pages
10-12] |
Tabloid: cover image MCU
of Romney and Obama on stage smiling after the debate -
Getty
Images |
| Chicago Tribune |
"Dueling visions for nation's future: Obama,
Romney
spar
over
job
creation,
health care, deficit" - Paul West and
Kathleen Hennessey |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium shot of Romney and Obama on stage,
Romney waving and Obama smiling and appearing to walk away, a podium in
the background - Jewel Samad/Getty-AFP Photo |
| The Dallas Morning News |
"Showdown offers economic contrast" "Challenger rips Obama as poor steward as president warns of benefits to wealthy" - Todd J. Gillman "Analysis: Brisk Romney, full of figures, succeeds" - Wayne Slater |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium shot of Romney and Obama on stage,
Romney waving and
Obama smiling and appearing to walk away, a podium in the background -
Charles Dharapak/The Associated Press [very similar to image in the Chicago Tribune; Romney is waving but his hand not fully open] |
| The Denver Post |
"Round 1: Romney" "Romney: Republican candidate hits ground running, hits with verbal jousts" / "Obama: President shies from fight, but paints foe as secretive, deceptive" - John Ingold |
Dominant,
lead
photos
(2):
MCUs
of
the two candidates during the debate, blue
background. Romney speaking and gesturing - John Leybe, The
Denver Post; Obama, with expression on his face, listening, looking in
Romney's direction - Craig Walker, The Denver Post |
| Newsday (Long Island, NY) |
"CLASH: Obama, Romney spar on
taxes, health care" [teaser refers to pages A2-4] |
Tabloid;
dominant,
lead
photos (2): Extreme CUs of the two candidates during the debate,
black
background (2 photos) - AP Photos |
| Houston Chronicle |
[Analysis] "Debate giver Romney campaign a
much-needed boost" - Richard S. Dunham, Washington |
Not
the dominant photo, but above the fold. MCU of Romney and Obama
close together and both smiling - Jewel Samad/Getty-AFP
Photo |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer |
"Romney Puts Heat on Obama: The
GOP
challenger
came
on
strong in a debate heavy on statistics.
The president seemed less on his game." - Thomas Fitzgerald,
Inquirer Politics Writer from Denver |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Cut-away shot looking over Romney's shoulder
towards Obama, show the two men at their podiums, Romney speaking and
gesturing and Obama looking on and smiling - Rick Wilking/Associated
Press |
| The Arizona Republic |
[Analysis] "Romney on the Attack: Challenger
comes
out
forcefully
vs. lackluster Obama" - Dan Nowicki and
Rebekah L. Sanders, The Republic |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
MCU of Obama and Romney greeting each other - Pool
Photo/Michael Reynolds/AP |
| Star Tribune |
"Obama, Romney Clash Over Economic Visions:
In rapid-fire exchanges, both candidates vowed to protect
the middle class." - Jeff Zeleny and Michael D. Shear,
New York Times [Analysis] "Romney gains some traction on economy as Obama struggles" - Karen Tumulty-Washington Post |
Dominant,
lead
photo: Medium shot of Obama and Romney shaking hands at
the end of
the debate, crowd in the background and on the left in
the background moderator Jim Lehrer is just getting out of his chair -
Michael Reynolds-Getty Images *
but
full frame; Lehrer not cropped out |
| Tampa Bay Times |
"Romney presses Obama on record: In
a strong showing, the Republican challenger offers lots of specifics
while the president focuses on a vision for America." - Alex
Leary, Times Staff Writer from Denver |
Dominant,
lead
photo:
Medium wide photo of the two men close to each
either before or after the debate, podiums and eagle insignia in the
background - Getty Images |
| The Plain Dealer |
"Candidates fling statistics, argue how to
fix economy: Romney, Obama disagree on taxes, role of
government" - Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, New York Times |
Dominant, lead photo: Medium shot of the two candidates smiling and close together immediately after the debate, a podium in the background - Charles Dharapak/Associated Press |
| The Star-Ledger (NJ) |
"Romney comes out swinging on economy: Obama
calls
GOP
rival a man without a plan in their first face-off" -
Julie Pace and David Espo/Associated Press |
Dominant, lead photos (2): MCUs of the two candidates during the debate, both show the candidates speaking and gesturing (2 photos) - Saul Loeb/Agence France Presse |
Note. Front page of the the 20th paper, the Orange County Register, not found online so the next biggest paper, the Star-Ledger was used.
Copyright © 2012 Eric M.
Appleman/Democracy
in
Action.
All rights reserved.