A few thoughts:
nick3849 said:
- What are some proven methods for a cover/inside section?
For the cover, there's lots you can do, but make sure to make it specific and local. Don't just use some generic image, unless it's to relate a theme, and then it better be good. It's best to go with whatever you're centering your section on, whether it's a theme, a doubletruck or a specific story. You can make multiple images work if you know what you're doing, but I've seen many a good cover go bad because too much was going on.
For the inside, if you have a theme, carry it through in the furniture -- the headers, the graphics, the folios, etc. Don't force it on the stories. If it works with the stories, all the better, but don't make writers force something if it makes their stories cheesy.
And provide lots of little things readers can keep coming back to. I also don't like rosters; prefer depth charts, and only for college. Give people something to talk about, too -- top 10 lists, season predictions, whatever.
- What, if anything, should be avoided at all costs?
Avoid regurgitating the same thing you do every year. Some stuff will be the same -- stats, schedules, depth charts, etc. But try to find a new way to package them at least. And make sure there's something else in their that's different from what you've done before.
- Is there such thing as a balance between creativity and being conservative?
Oh yeah, there is. You have to give the readers what they want, but you also have to do something that separates you, makes it better than the year before or the other sections or magazines they can pick up in your area. But you can't get too crazy. For instance, on a different sport, a paper I know of one time printed round NCAA Tournament brackets. They looked cool. But readers were irate. They wanted the regular brackets to use for their pools. The paper was flooded with calls. The paper went the creative route, but went too far. the same can happen with football tabs.
How do you know where the line is? Well, usually you find out when you get 50 calls the day it publishes.
- Are themed sections a good idea, are they worth the trouble?
Themes are good and bad ideas. If you do it right, they can be great. One of the Florida papers (Miami or Orlando, I think) did the Art of Football last year. It was BRILLIANT. They had doubletrucks breaking down stuff like the Art of the Cover Two. Mona Lisa with an old school football helmet on the cover. Great stuff. The South Florida Sun Sentinel did a music theme with CDs not too long ago that was good.
They can also go bad on you. Themes take a lot of planning to pull off well. If you're this close to doing the section and don't have a theme, I say forget it. If you can start planning in the spring or early summer latest, then go for it.
- Should content be more themed-based, or merely get out as much info. as possible?
I'm a big fan of the packaging reflecting the theme more than stories, unless you can gear specific stories around the theme. Ideally, the theme is broad enough that both work. But don't force the stories to be theme-based if you can help it.
- Organization -- What legwork could/should be done beforehand, etc? Is there a certain order things should be done?
Depends on the size and scope of your section. I say get the basics done before you sit down to do the section. Gather all the art, or at least the main art. You can always get the little stuff later. Get the schedules punched in how you want them -- by team, conference, division, whatever. Have all the stories before you sit down to design the section. If there's some specific part that's going to take a while, like doing a bunch of cutouts, get them done in free time on slow days if you can. Dummy up certain pages if you have a budget so you at least have a starting point. Sure, some of that will change when you get your pages, but you'll at least have a starting point.
And make sure your ad department isn't going to float in ads all week long while you're laying it out.
