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President Obama Election 2008: Collection of Newspaper Front Pages by the Poynter Institute
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Product Description
The presidential campaign of 2008 was one of the most intense and closely-followed races in US politics. Moments after the presidential election was called for Barack Obama across televisions and computer screens (and probably sooner), editors at newspapers around the world began framing some of the most significant front pages in history.
President Obama: Election 2008 is a collection of over 75 November 5th, 2008 newspaper front pages from around the world, including international, campus, and ethnic newspapers. There is no better statement of the emotion, excitement and significance of this historic event. Compiled by The Poynter Institute, a non-profit school for journalists, this book will be a cherished keepsake or gift for any of the millions of Americans who cast their vote for the 44th President of the United States.
A Look Inside President Obama: Election 2008, with an Introduction by Garry Trudeau
| In the real world, as a matter of record, there isn't much dancing in the streets. Setting aside sanctioned festivals, it's mostly just a figure of speech, especially when used predictively (see "Iraq, invasion of"). Election Day, November 4, 2008, was different. That night, Baltimore Avenue in Philadelphia was clogged with a jubilant mob boogying with abandon, banging pots and pans in time with horn blasts from engulfed cars. In Kisumu, thousands of Kenyans shimmied in the streets, singing, kissing, thumping on drums in such an unalloyed outpouring of euphoria that the government was moved to declare a national holiday. In Seattle, a club turned its speakers into the street, blasting a beat for the enormous dance party that rocked downtown. In Jakarta, schoolchildren hugged and danced in the pouring rain. In New Haven, hundreds of Yale students, mad with joy, spontaneously poured from their rooms and converged on a campus green, where they formed an enormous circle of celebration. And in Manhattan, Broadway was quickly cordoned off as thousands of New Yorkers streamed south toward the lights, dancing, shouting, overcome by a big, bold blast of history, the kind that filled up Times Square on V-J Day. And then the next day, after the street parties were over, people went out and did something many of them hadn't done in years: They bought newspapers. Yes, newspapers. By the trainload, actually. The Washington Post printed up 30,000 extra copies; they sold out instantly. So they ordered another 150,000 copies, then raised it to 250,000, then eventually 700,000—offered at triple the usual cover price. In Los Angeles, the Times printed up an extra 107,000, but they were gone in an instant. Outside their downtown offices, a line of customers formed around the block. Two days later, it was still there. Meanwhile, The New York Times put an extra 250,000 papers on the street, but individual copies still popped up on eBay for $200 apiece. And at last count, USA Today had printed 380,000 additional copies, with online sales still brisk. All those folks scrambling for copies weren't just interested in election returns, obviously. They could, after all, get the details from TV or the Internet, and probably already had—maybe even from their local newspaper's Web site. But what they couldn't get was the crisp, tactile, iconic artifact that is a daily newspaper— that tangible proof that something big had really happened. The morning-after newspaper, with the huge headlines reserved for historic events, continues to be seen as the indispensable keepsake—one that can forever evoke and refresh a deeply consequential memory. To our industry, it was a glorious day and no doubt will be recalled fondly. It seems doubtful, with newspapers inexorably losing their place in public life, that we will see many more like it. But on November 5, 2008, for one day, we became a nation of newspaper consumers again. Across the country, editors were breaking out the 72-point type, and the public couldn’t get enough of it. This collection of front pages evolved from that continuing excitement, and part of its great appeal is that it allows readers to vicariously experience the same ringing event from many vantage points. Each newspaper had its own particular cultural or geographic perspective, so while the basic lead ("Obama wins!") was the same everywhere, there was considerable variation in the framing. For Hawaiian readers, for instance, it was a hometown-boy-makes-good story. For Atlanta, with its civil rights legacy, the story is the ultimate triumph of social justice. In The Arizona Republic, John McCain's home newspaper, the smiling winner shares the front page with a gracious loser. To look at these disparate front pages in sequence is to grasp the enormity of Barack Obama's dream of bringing a fractious country together. But the overriding tone of elation and pride suggests he's off to a pretty good start. Did I mention there was dancing in the streets? --Garry Trudeau A New Era: Excerpts from President Obama Election 2008
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Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #366327 in Books
- Published on: 2008-12-16
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 96 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780740784804
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Founded in 1975, The Poynter Institute is a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders. It promotes excellence and integrity in the practice of craft and in the practical leadership of successful businesses. It stands for a journalism that informs citizens and enlightens public discourse. It carries forward Nelson Poynter's belief in the value of independent journalism in the public interest. As a financially independent, nonprofit organization, The Poynter Institute is beholden to no interest except its own mission: to help journalists seek and achieve excellence.
Customer Reviews
Savour It!
From the triumphant front page headlines and photos of the Denver Rock Mountain News and the Flemish-language DeMorgen in Brussels, to the grudging short shrift of The BG News of the state university in Bowling Green, Tennessee, or the sour acknowledgement of an 'economic crisis' and ohbytheway-Obama-won of The Wall Street Journal, this souvenir book reproduces the front pages of 75 newspapers around the world, all expressing the mood of their readerships on the morning after the election of the 44th President of the United States.
The dominant mood is exultation, and for once I get to share in it. I have clear memories of the election of every US President from Eisenhower's first term to the disastrous re-election of W four years ago, and this is the first time I've ever felt like owning a keepsake of the victory to pass on to children and grandchildren. Hope is here, and for me the 'hope' is that 'change' will indeed follow.
Obama's inaugural address, which I've just heard, was impressively stern and earnest. The gist of it, to me, was the message that change in America begins with the minds and behavior of Americans, abandoning the silly ideological positioning of the past administrations - all of them - from Reagan to W, and turning to pragmatic solutions to real problems of maldistribution, intolerance, and egomaniacal greed. I was thrilled, personally, to hear him include "non-believers" among the citizenry along with Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. And I was overjoyed to hear his commitment to the restoration of science to the councils of government.
It feels good, my friends, not to be disgusted and alienated from the democratic process.
One for the History Books
Let me preface my review of PRESIDENT OBAMA: ELECTION 2008 (A COLLECTION OF NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES SELECTED BY THE POYNTER INSTITUTE) with a disclosure: I'm not a huge Obama fan. Not because I think he's a secret Muslim(n), or because I'm afraid that he'll turn America socialist and make all the heteros gay marry. On the contrary - I am way left of Obama on most issues. I voted for Kucinich in the primaries, McKinney/Clemente in the general election. While I'm relieved that Obama/Biden triumphed over McCain/Palin, I don't have any delusions that President Obama will usher in a new era of American prosperity, or that he's really an uber-progressive guy at heart. My review, then, is purely nonpartisan - after all, I'm reviewing an art/photography book, not a politician, right?
All that said, I requested a review copy of PRESIDENT OBAMA through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program because the 2008 elections were truly historic, whatever your political affiliations. I thought the book would make a nice keepsake, at best. At worst, I figured could regift it to my conservative, gun-loving father as a gag gift. Turns out, I think I'll keep my copy of PRESIDENT OBAMA. It's a gorgeous, full-color book, featuring 78 post-election day newspaper front pages from around the globe. The covers are arranged alphabetically, with local American newspapers grouped first (ordered by state; 42 states are represented), followed by national and then international papers. Placed inconspicuously beside each front page is a brief block of text explaining the paper and why it was chosen.
Many of the local American front pages follow the same format, with large, election-night photos of the Obama family (or portraits of Barack Obama) placed front and center. Here, it's interesting to note how similar many of the headlines are; most feature some variation on the "hope," "change," or "yes we can" campaign slogans. Some of the media border eerily on idol worship, depicting Obama's face on money or working his campaign logo (the red, white and blue "O") into the text of their headlines. Collectively, the local media appears to have succumbed, more or less, to the cult of personality surrounding Obama: Welcome to Obamanation! Certainly, November 4, 2008 was a historic point in American history; sitting at home, I cried along with much of America as I watched the returns come in. Still, Obama's staff couldn't have created more laudatory coverage if they tried. After eight years of capitulation to Bush, I can only hope that this isn't indicative of the sort of "hard-hitting" reporting we can expect from the mainstream media in the next four years.
The international front pages offer a bit more diversity; Vienna's DIE PRESSE, for example, features a photo of Obama surrounded by smaller pictures of local reaction to the election results, while the word "change" - translated into 24 languages - steals the cover of Belgium's DE MORGEN. In the post-Bush world, it's quite refreshing to see global citizens celebrating American events, instead of protesting them!
I guess my only complaint is that the Poynter Institute chose not to include any conservative / right-of-center news media in this volume. Granted, dissenting or negative coverage wouldn't exactly jibe with the laudatory tone of this volume, but still - this was a divisive and polarized election season (what with all the scare-mongering, race baiting, appeals to misogyny and cries of "terra-ist!"), and a few token voices of resistance might make the collection more complete - and historically accurate. While most November 5th coverage was no doubt respectful (if not outright celebratory), the editors did choose to include a few liberal alterna-weeklies - so methinks they could have unearthed one or two unhappy conservative rags, too.
Overall, PRESIDENT OBAMA makes for a nice coffee table book - just make sure you go all out and purchase the hardcover edition. My paperback was a tad bent when it arrived. :(
A little bit of a great story
This is a very simple formula, exceedingly well done. The content is exactly as described and the production standards are very high, from the choice of front pages to the printing which allows me, with my glasses on, to read nearly all the texts on the front pages.
It would have been so easy to cobble something together to make a quick buck on the back of the Obama "brand". The Poynter Institute have done exactly the opposite: no short-cuts in sight. Generations to come will get the same pleasure as I do from this little bit of History.
