Newspaper question

[bmasters9]

I'd like to know about something that I've always wondered about when it comes to tabloid newspapers-- why do most of them have their sports sections starting on the back?

[biffbronson]

Good question -- if I'm not mistaken, a paper like Chicago Sun-Times was doing that even years ago. If I had to take an educated guess from my experience, I would say that in earlier years, color photography was used mainly for Page 1, and so the opposite page -- the back of the tabloid -- could also be in color, rolling through the same color press. Taking advantage of color being available for photos, the newspapers placed their top sports stories on that back page, utilizing action photos in full color...!

So considering the more abundant use of color throughout the pages of modern newspapers, continuing that practice probably owes more to tradition than other reasons.

If you're a younger person, you may not be as aware that years ago, magazines and newspapers utilized far less color for their publications than they have in modern times.

[bmasters9]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

Good question -- if I'm not mistaken, a paper like Chicago Sun-Times was doing that even years ago. If I had to take an educated guess from my experience, I would say that in earlier years, color photography was used mainly for Page 1, and so the opposite page -- the back of the tabloid -- could also be in color, rolling through the same color press. Taking advantage of color being available for photos, the newspapers placed their top sports stories on that back page, utilizing action photos in full color...!

So considering the more abundant use of color throughout the pages of modern newspapers, continuing that practice probably owes more to tradition than other reasons.

If you're a younger person, you may not be as aware that years ago, magazines and newspapers utilized far less color for their publications than they have in modern times.

Good point, there! I just now saw your reply, but still I think that it answers my question very well. Thanks for it!

[Vito]

Originally Posted by biffbronson

If you're a younger person, you may not be as aware that years ago, magazines and newspapers utilized far less color for their publications than they have in modern times.

When I was a kid, the weekday editions of all newspapers were in black & white. Text, photos, advertisements, everything. Only the Sunday comics section was in color. I thought it was very cool to see "Dennis the Menace", "Blondie", and "Beetle Bailey" in living color!