A minister's resignation and a locked front page
At 9:35 p.m., the chief sub-editor of a Thiruvananthapuram evening daily learns that the state health minister has resigned after a drug procurement controversy. The front page is already locked: a 4-column lead on a local temple festival, a 3-column photo of a school arts festival, and a 2-column strip advertisement for a jewellery store booked for the bottom-right corner. The press deadline is 10:45 p.m. The minister's resignation is confirmed by two sources but the official statement is expected at 10:10 p.m. The paper has an 8-column grid; the lead headline is set at 48 pt. The advertisement cannot be dropped without a 25% penalty unless the advertiser agrees to move it to page 3. The editor says the resignation must be on page 1 above the fold. The chief sub-editor has one reporter on the phone and no fresh photo of the minister.
1. Plan the front page. State what stays, what moves, and where the resignation story goes.
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The resignation is the lead: it has impact, prominence and immediacy for the whole state; the temple festival is local and can wait. Plan: 1) Strip the 4-column festival lead to a 2-column brief at the bottom left, or move it to page 3. 2) Keep the school arts festival photo but reduce it to 2 columns, or use it as a small stand-alone on page 2. 3) Move the jewellery ad to page 3 with the advertiser's consent; if refused, keep it bottom-right but shrink the editorial space above it. 4) Give the resignation a 5-column, above-the-fold block: 48-pt headline, a file photo of the minister, a 2-column sub-story on the procurement controversy, and a 'jump to page 4' line. 5) Hold 1 column for the official statement at 10:10 p.m.; if it arrives, update the sub-head; if not, write 'official statement awaited'. Reasoning: layout follows news value, not the old lock; the ad is revenue, but editorial independence means the lead cannot be buried.
2. Write a headline and justify your word choice.
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Headline: 'Health Minister Resigns Over Drug Procurement Row' or 'Minister Quits; Probe Ordered'. Justification: active verb 'resigns' signals the action; 'over' links cause without alleging guilt; 'row' is neutral and attributable. Avoid 'Caught in Scam' - that presumes guilt and risks defamation. Keep it under 10 words for 48 pt across 5 columns. Use a kicker: 'Procurement controversy' and a sub-head: 'Official statement awaited; opposition demands probe'. If the resignation is confirmed by two sources but not the official letter, the headline can say 'resigns' only if the sources are authoritative; otherwise use 'offers to resign' or 'likely to resign'. Reasoning: a headline is a legal and ethical statement, not just a label. It must be specific, active and defensible.
3. The advertiser refuses to move. What do you do?
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Do not spike the resignation story or hide it below the ad. Options in order: 1) Ask the advertiser to accept page 3 at the same rate; explain the late news. 2) Offer a make-good: same size, page 3, plus a 10% discount next week. 3) If the advertiser still refuses, keep the ad in its booked position but redesign the page: the resignation can run above the fold in the remaining 6 columns, with the ad as a bottom-right strip. 4) Do not accept a demand to kill the story; that is a breach of editorial independence. Record the conversation and inform the editor. If the ad contract has a penalty clause, the paper's lawyer should review it, but the news value of a minister's resignation outweighs a 25% penalty. Reasoning: advertising pressure is a test of the firewall between business and editorial; the reader must be able to see the lead.