Design double duty

When the news about Mike Davis' possible resignation began breaking last Wednesday, Indiana Daily Student reporters and editors worked to report and write the story before the paper's midnight deadline. While those staffers attempted to get the scoop on Davis, the front page of the paper was in limbo. Would Davis resign? Would he be fired? Was it all just speculation? Before reporters had confirmed what would happen with Davis, the front page had to be designed multiple times to cover our bases for the different possibilities. \nAt 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, each section editor pitched his or her stories for the front page of the paper -- just as they do the night before every paper. At that meeting, the order of the stories on the page was determined: one about a college paper publishing the controversial Muhammad cartoon, one about skin cancer, another about police escorting funeral processions and a centerpiece -- the story with the dominant art on the page -- about students practicing for IU Sing. There was nothing about Davis. \nThat page was progressing nicely, with three of those four stories already placed. Everything, however, changed at about 9:30 p.m. That's when news of Sports Illustrated's report of Davis' resignation hit the newsroom -- via an instant message I received from my girlfriend while designing. Goodbye original design. Hello tight deadline and big news.\nAfter scrapping that page (only two of the stories remained in the final edition, and even those were forced into much less prominent displays), I sat down with Editor in Chief Rick Newkirk to determine where our coverage was headed. We talked about a number of different possibilities, including what we would do if IDS reporters could not confirm Davis' resignation and the only sources we had were other media outlets. In that case, the story would have been at the top left of the page, rather than on the entire top two-thirds of the paper, as it ultimately appeared. (To see a pdf of the original front page, check idsnews.com.) Luckily, reporters gathered enough facts that it warranted the extensive front page coverage and dominance it received. \nDuring that whole process, the original front page was still saved. Things can change quickly in the news business, and we wanted to make sure to have a backup plan if the story evolved or if the Davis news turned out to be erroneous. \nThe effects of a big news story like this are apparent not just on the day the news happens. The story about the cartoon controversy that we had to hold to make room for the Davis news appeared in Monday's edition. The story about funeral processions, meanwhile, has been held for sometime later this week.\nSometimes readers might think that only reporters and editors have to be on their feet as journalists. The Davis resignation just goes to show that designers do, too.