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Opinion Columns Looking back-literally-on fading '08
Looking back-literally-on fading '08
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It’s the time of year when many news organizations start putting together their “Top 10 Stories of the Year” list The Associated Press creates so many of these rankings (national news, national sports, region-by-region news, etc.) that it could almost create a “Top 10 List of the Top Lists.” I’ve never been big on ranking stories. The news, by its very nature, is diverse. Some stories are about single events; others are about ongoing issues. Deciding which ones are the “biggest” in some kind of Top 10 ranking is not just subjective, it’s ludicrous. Still, I’m as nostalgic as the next journalist, and it’s not right to let the year pass without some type of look back. “Look” is the key word in the approach The Triplicate has chosen: a special section coming out Dec. 30 entitled “2008: The Year in Pictures. Displaying some of the most compelling images that appeared on our news pages this year will bring back significant news events in a way that a mere list cannot. The approach also plays to one of our strengths: We employ a talented photojournalist named Bryant Anderson who strives to illustrate the news of the day in ways that add to our readers’ understanding and enjoyment. The newsroom is at its best when it’s producing stories accompanied by images. “What about photos?” is a question I ask frequently when reporters broach story topics. Not every article lends itself to illustration, and not every photo comes with a story attached. We call photos without stories “stand-alone” or “wild art.” Some still illustrate news — like the snow photo on the front page today. Others are simply interesting images. Since we live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, we could spruce up the front page every day with a scenic shot of the redwoods or the coast. But that would be giving short shrift to our news-photo responsibilities. We try to print “beauty shots,” as the publisher calls them, only when they’re spectacular. Bry’s recent shot of the crashing surf at sunset comes to mind. The challenge over the next few days will be to choose just the very best of a year’s worth of images. Off the top of my head, I recall January’s storm damage, February’s beached sperm whale, and then it becomes a blur as the months of 2008 rolled on. Somewhere in there, the Del Norte Warriors won some championships and we lost a favorite son to the war in Afghanistan. So stand by for a look back at the highs and lows of fast-fading 2008. |
