Should Wheldon story have been A1 in the NYT?

[Dick Whitman]

We discussed the placement of the Steve Jobs obit. What about Wheldon? There is a tease to sports at the bottom of A1, but no separate story.

Should there have been? Did the New York Times drop the ball today? East Coast bias?

 

[YGBFKM]

Only if Hines Ward belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Seriously, no. He wasn't even remotely well known enough to merit such a thing. Big sports story, but the front page of the Times? Come on, man!

 

[Dick Whitman]

Only if Hines Ward belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Seriously, no. He wasn't even remotely well known enough to merit such a thing. Big sports story, but the front page of the Times? Come on, man!

The reigning Indy 500 champion died in a fiery, horrifying wreck on live television that involved 15 cars. On a slow news day. That's a story that goes beyond the mere name recognition of the driver. If Dan Wheldon dies in a farming accident next November, it shouldn't get that placement. But this time? These circumstances? Absolutely.

 

[YGBFKM]

Wrong.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Only if Hines Ward belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Seriously, no. He wasn't even remotely well known enough to merit such a thing. Big sports story, but the front page of the Times? Come on, man!

The reigning Indy 500 champion died in a fiery, horrifying wreck on live television that involved 15 cars. On a slow news day. That's a story that goes beyond the mere name recognition of the driver. If Dan Wheldon dies in a farming accident next November, it shouldn't get that placement. But this time? These circumstances? Absolutely.

Definitely a matter of news judgment.

But I think the things you pointed out are the reasons it got teased on A1 rather than ignored.

 

[reformedhack]

Have to admit, I was curious myself about where some big U.S. papers played this story, so I spent some time at newseum.org.

Indy Star had a 1A story (since Wheldon won Indy 500) and the Las Vegas RJ did, too, of course (since it was a local story). New York Post had it on the cover, but I suspect it was mainly because they could run a big photo of an explosion next to the words "ORGY SPREE" in 200-point type (for a story about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's exploits).

By and large, though, most big papers -- both east coast and west coast -- had nothing more than 1A teases: LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Philly Inq, Boston Globe, Denver Post. UK papers (he's from England) didn't appear to have it out front, either, but that's probably more a factor of the time difference.

St. Petersburg Times had a full story on 1A, naturally (he lived in St. Petersburg). Surprisingly, the crosstown rival Tampa Tribune did not (1A tease).

My magazine interviewed him three years ago for an at-home profile. Nice guy. Sad news.

 

[MileHigh]

Tease off A1 except for the notable papers mentioned above -- Las Vegas, Indy, St. Pete -- is appropriate. Curious how it was played in sports sections, especially on an NFL Monday. Here, it was lower part of the cover with secondary photo. NLCS clincher was pushed inside to page 6.

 

[Den1983]

We're a 16K daily and we had it on 1B. Like someone said, slow news day.

 

[HanSenSE]

We stripped it across the top of sports. I wasn't on duty, but left one specific instruction: No driver's ed-like photos.

 

[Desk_dude]

The networks led with the story on Monday night.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

It wasn't even on the front page of the Washington Post's sports section. Indycar racing is on par with women's golf around here though.

 

[1HPGrad]

It's on par with women's golf at almost every paper except one. The 500 is special. The series is not. This is a different discussion if it's Danica or Helio, the only two names non-IndyCar fans might know.

Changing gears for a second...Does the Post have a separate Redskins section or just turn the sports cover over to them?

 

[Dick Whitman]

What if it had been Trevor Bayne?

 

[imjustagirl]

I would have still not gotten out of bed.

 

[playthrough]

It was a gruesome crash, the first of its kind in quite a while, and it's a two-time Indy 500 champ dying a few months after winning America's most historic race. You gotta go way back for other instances that, literally to guys names Chevrolet. If it was a slow news day, it qualifies for below-the-fold A1 for me me.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I would have still not gotten out of bed.

Sorry if that was too ghoulish. But the point of the question is: Does the series matter or the driver? Both are the reigning champions in their respective series' crown jewel. Wheldon is a bigger start in his sport. Bayne is a lesser name in a more popular sport. Probably around equally known among casual sports fans, right?

I bet Bayne gets the cover. Or any reigning Daytona 500 champ. How did the NYT play Earnhardt? Not that it's even close to a one-to-one comparison.

 

[Dick Whitman]

It was a gruesome crash, the first of its kind in quite a while, and it's a two-time Indy 500 champ dying a few months after winning America's most historic race. You gotta go way back for other instances that, literally to guys names Chevrolet. If it was a slow news day, it qualifies for below-the-fold A1 for me me.

I honestly think that the New York Times probably has no clue what the Indianapolis 500 still means to many people in the rest of the country. Although since the Chicago Tribune didn't put it on A1, either, that might not be a totally fair charge.

 

[Double Down]

Earnhardt was on the front. Although Ann Coulter famously claimed on her book it was not as evidence that the NYT didn't care about real Americans and their heroes. When called on it, she blamed Nexis for misleading her.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Earnhardt was on the front. Although Ann Coulter famously claimed on her book it was not as evidence that the NYT didn't care about real Americans and their heroes.

Holy ****, I forgot about that!

I feel disgraced now for paralleling an Ann Coulter argument. At least the foundation of my point was accurate, though. And qualified to the max with the Chicago Tribune hedge.

 

[imjustagirl]

I don't think there's any way Trevor Bayne is more well known than Dan Wheldon among "casual" sports fans. Casual NASCAR fans, yes. But Wheldon is a series champion and a two-time Indy winner. Bayne hit all the news shows after winning a very emotional Daytona, don't get me wrong. You will NEVER find me saying a bad word about that boy. But he hasn't done **** since, and he's only part-time in Cup, and he's never won a Nationwide race. It was a fluke win.

It's like saying if Right Said Fred died in a plane crash, they would get more coverage than REM dying the same way.