Design has played a key role in newspaper front pages in the 20th and 21st centuries. But, as the role of the printed newspaper has all but evaporated, the importance placed on front-page design has seemingly diminished, too. Today’s front pages are marked by templates and sameness defined by chain ownership and lack of complexity. This study concludes the body of research launched by Sandra Utt and Steve Pasternak chronicling the design and content of America’s newspaper front pages.
AumanA. (1994). Design desks: Why are more and more newspapers adopting them?Newspaper Research Journal, 15(2), 128–142.
3.
BarnhurstK. G.NeroneJ. (2002). The form of news: A history. Guilford Press.
4.
BellT. R.CocheR. (2018). High power kick: Content analysis of the USWNT 2015 world cup victory on American front pages. Communication & Sport, 6(6), 745–761.
5.
BellT. R.CocheR. (2022). “Victory on their own terms”: American front-page framing of the USWNT repeat World Cup championship. Journalism Practice, 16(6), 1134–1149.
ClickJ. W.StempelG. H.III. (1979, September28). Rate of adoption of modern format by daily newspapers. News Research Report 22, American Newspaper Publishers Association, Washington, D.C.
8.
CocheR.BellT. R. (2024). Front-page prominence and newspaper ownership: Examining US women’s national team coverage after 2015 and 2019 World Cup victories. Journalism, 25(3), 710–728. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231162724
DahmenN. S. (2018). Visually reporting mass shootings: US newspaper photographic coverage of three mass school shootings. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(2), 163–180.
DupagneM.GarrisonB. (2006). The meaning and influence of convergence: A qualitative case study of newsroom work at the Tampa News Center.Journalism Studies, 7(2), 237–255.
13.
EverettS. E.EverettG. A. (1988). The blurring of headline sizes under new editing technology. Journalism Quarterly, 65(3), 627–633.
14.
FreelonD. (2010). ReCal: Intercoder reliability calculation as a web service. International Journal of Internet Science, 5(1), 20–33.
15.
GentryJ. K.ZangB. (1989). Characteristics of graphics managers at metropolitan dailies. Newspaper Research Journal, 10(4), 85–95.
16.
GladneyG. A. (1992). The McPaper revolution? USA today-style innovation at large US dailies. Newspaper Research Journal, 13(1–2), 54–71.
17.
HarrowerT.ElmanJ. M. (2012). The newspaper designer’s handbook (7th ed.). McGraw Hill.
18.
IbuotU. P.AkanniT. (2023). Photographs and infographic elements on contemporary Nigerian newspapers: A study of Vanguard, The Punch, Daily Sun and Leadership. Redeemer’s University Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 6(2).
LawalC. N.OkonG. B.SadoA. A. (2025). Photo aesthetics in select Nigerian newspapers and reader preferences in South-South Nigeria: Examining visual appeal and audience engagement. International Journal of English Language & Communication Studies, 10(1).
21.
LesterP. (1988). Use of visual elements on newspaper front pages. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 65, 760–763.
22.
LoughK.AsheI. (2021). Journalism’s visual construction of place in environmental coverage. Newspaper Research Journal, 42(2), 253–269.
23.
LoughK.MohammedS. (2019). The pictures in our pages: Intermedia visual agenda setting between the Associated Press and US newspapers. The Agenda Setting Journal, 3(1), 82–102.
24.
LoughK.MortensenT. M. (2023). Routine and individual-level influences on newspaper front-page images: Wire photographs, staff photojournalism, race and gender. Journalism Practice, 17(9), 2015–2034.
25.
LowreyW. (2002). Word people vs. picture people: Normative differences and strategies for control over work among newsroom subgroups. Mass Communication & Society, 5(4), 411–432.
26.
MorrisD. L.HaughtM. J. (2018). America’s front pages: A 30-year update. Newspaper Research Journal, 39(1), 105–120.
27.
NetoB. M.IshikawaE.GhineaG.GrønliT. M. (2019). Newsroom 3.0: Managing technological and media convergence in contemporary newsrooms. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii international conference on system sciences (pp. 2407–2416).
28.
NunesM. J.RoloE. (2024, November). Editorial design for a regional newspaper: The “Vila Raiana” project. In International conference on design and digital communication (pp. 861–870). Springer Nature Switzerland.
29.
PasternackS.UttS. H. (1986). Subject perception of newspaper characteristics based on front page design. Newspaper Research Journal, 8(1), 29–35.
30.
PasternackS.UttS. H. (1990). Reader use & understanding of newspaper infographics. Newspaper Research Journal, 11(2), 28–41.
31.
PasternackS.UttS. H. (1995). America’s front pages: A 10-year update. Newspaper Research Journal, 16(4), 2–12.
SjøvaagH. (2014). Homogenisation or differentiation? The effects of consolidation in the regional newspaper market. Journalism Studies, 15(5), 511–521.
36.
SmithE. J.HajashD. J. (1988). Informational graphics in 30 daily newspapers. Journalism Quarterly, 65(3), 714–718.
37.
StammK.UnderwoodD.GiffardA. (1995). How pagination affects job satisfaction of editors. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 72(4), 851–862.
38.
StoneG. C.SchweitzerJ. C.WeaverD. H. (1978). Adoption of modern newspaper design. Journalism Quarterly, 55, 761–766.
39.
TejedorS.CerviL.TusaF.PortalesM.ZabotinaM. (2020). Information on the COVID-19 pandemic in daily newspapers’ front pages: Case study of Spain and Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6330.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (1984). Front pages of US daily newspapers. Journalism Quarterly, 61(4), 879–884.
42.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (1985). Use of graphic devices in a competitive situation: A case study of 10 cities. Newspaper Research Journal, 7(1), 7–16.
43.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (1989). How they look: An updated study of American newspaper front pages. Journalism Quarterly, 66(3), 621–627.
44.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (1993). Infographics today: Using qualitative devices to display quantitative information. Newspaper Research Journal, 14(3–4), 146–157.
45.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (2003). Front page design: Some trends continue. Newspaper Research Journal, 24(3), 48–61.
46.
UttS. H.PasternackS. (2000). Update on infographics in American newspapers. Newspaper Research Journal, 21(2), 55–66.
47.
WassermanH.ChumaW.BoschT.UzuegbunamC. E.FlynnR. (2021). South African newspaper coverage of COVID-19: A content analysis. Journal of African Media Studies, 13(3), 333–350.
