Choices for Front Page Stories

With so much happening this week regarding politics, the economy and civil rights to name a few, each network or website is faced with the important decision of what to cover. Sure, every topic can be covered to some extent, but at the end of the day, the stories each site chooses to put on the front page have to appeal to its readers. Looking over the front page stories of the New York Times, CNN and the Huffington Post, the demographic of the site's readers quickly becomes apparent.

The Times has chosen to run a number of front page stories on the forclosure crisis as well as the proposed stimulus package, reflecting that its readers are generally concerned with the status of the economy. But the main article on the Times front page, which didn't recieve any mention on the front pages of the other two sites was an article on how the issue California gay marriage is going to court tomorrow, Thursday March 5th. A large shot of opposers to prop 8 holding candles dominates nearly half the screen, a clear sign that the websites readers care a great deal about the issue.

CNN has chosen a wider array of stories, some of which have more shock value and are less newsworthy to a general audience. Some of the stories include a man being attacked by a chimp, another being hit by a train, and a third attacking a court room judge. The remaining list is generally of the same shock value appeal that CNN strives to achieve to get more hits. Today, its main story is on how Terrel Owens has been released from the Cowboys, not the most news worthy in the grand scheme of things, yet the most popular story on the site by a large margin. CNN does post many of the newsworthy stories featured on the front page of the times. You just have to search for them further into the site.

The Huffington Post today is placing an emphasis on whats happening in congress and in the economy, more specifically CEO compensation and Asian stocks rising. The headlines are all written in ways that assume the reader has previous knowledge of the subject, indicating that the Huffington Post's readers are well read on stories covered throughout the blog. Among the congressional posts are blogs about Carl Rove's testifying before congress and GOP chairman Michael Steele talking about his "12 step program" recomendation for the party and his apologies to Rush Limbaugh. While the titles may hint at the need for previous knowledge on the subject, the majority of the articles catch you up to speed fairly quickly within the first few graphs.