Your 2011 football section is out the door but you may already be considering plans for 2012.
These corresponding slide shows of covers and inside pages come from the annual exchange of fall preview special sections. A couple of papers that sent electronic editions are included as well.
The annual exchange — the fourth one is being conducting this year — included more than 40 newspapers last year and offers a chance to find some ideas and wrinkles to throw into future sections.
Howard Primer of the Willoughby (Ohio) News-Herald sent along this pdf of some simple starting points which he prepared for papers in his chain.
Miguel Melendez of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group sent along links to the online versions of the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Whittier Daily News:
Among some of the notable items from the slideshow:
— The Free-Lance Star of Fredericksburg, Va., had attractive team pages built around one player in a short feature with nice art but also had all the other essential team information. Teams were published in order of a power poll, with points assigned for each area (rushing, passing, OL, DL, LB, secondary, special teams). The doubletruck feature was about Colonial Forge’s twin brothers, who play quarterback and tight end.
— The Willoughby (Ohio) News-Herald published three eight-page sections over three days, with the theme of advertising slogans. One cover was shot on an airplane wing, another was in a butcher shop (“Where’s the Beef?”) and the third on a John Deere vehicle.
— The Mayfield Messenger in Kentucky flipped its section for the third year, allowing Mayfield to be on the front cover and Graves County on the back. The theme continued inside with 10 pages printed one way, and the other 10 printed the other.
— The News & Messenger of Manassas, Va., called its preview section Playbook 10 and used a pencil-drawing font for its labels. The centerpiece doubletruck is about the successful Osbourn program and what the addition of an accomplished quarterback means for the program.
— The Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal used an illustration for its cover — college football coaches fishing for prospects. The doubletruck featured Super Seniors.
— A pair of newspapers went with movie themes —The Daily Record from Wooster, Ohio, and the Killeen Daily Herald. Killeen’s four 12-page sections included a section full of photos of cheerleaders, dance teams, drum majors, etc.
— The Marietta (Ga.) Daily Journal produced a monster tab at 96 pages with previews of 27 schools, plus a feature on the best player in Georgia and a doubletruck with the Marietta Daily Journal’s Dynamite Dozen.
— The Florence (Ala.) TimesDaily high school section was “Back to basics.” On the cover and inside, the section used photos in a fashion I’ve seen a fair amount of lately: A color cutout on a black and white background. The 16-page broadsheet college section featured Alabama, Auburn and Northern Alabama.
— The Citizens’ Voice Gameface included a ballot for fans to select the team of the decade.
— The San Antonio Express-News also celebrated players of the decade in its doubletruck for the high school edition.
— Gwinnett Daily Post also had a team of the decade in its centerpiece, including defensive standout Jeff Francoeur.
— The Scranton (Pa.) Times had a Facebook-inspired cover.
Lastly, this pdf from a presentation at the 2010 APSE national convention featured some tips for alternative story forms and high school football special sections.
It consists of six pages (jpgs converted from pdfs) and one that wasn't included in the presentation:
—Jackson Clarion Ledger
—Albany Times Union with more examples and the Big play artists cover.
—High school football sections: Page 1 2 3
