There’s a reason people call it “front-page news.”
Newseum’s “Top Ten Front Pages,” a daily feature that offers different takes on trending issues nationwide, turned Friday to the $26 billion mortgage settlement. Many outlets, from small locals to major metro papers, gave top billing to the news out of the mortgage-finance industry.
Front pages offer an agenda-setting function for newspapers, allowing them to set the tone and tell readers what’s important.
(OK, so this post is a bit deep in the journalism weeds. But what’s life if you can’t nerd-out every now and then?)
Some papers used graphics to explain the nuances of the settlement. The Orange County Register in California detailed how long it’ll take homeowners to receive benefits, and included contact information for each of the five banks involved. (Click on front covers to expand.)
The Kansas City Star breaks out who exactly will benefit from the settlement, with more details inside.
The Wisconsin State-Journal ran a wire story, but included a chart to break down the local impact of foreclosures, including January data. The Madison, Wis., paper also printed numbers for the banks.
Others took a more critical look at Thursday’s news, with two coming from foreclosure-laden states. The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a headline of “Settling for Settlement” with info on Nevada’s $1.5 billion benefit.
The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., asked whether the settlement is “too little, too late.”
(Front pages courtesy of Newseum. Click images to expand.)
