Time to once again rate the front pages. Two days after the Friday evening Metrolink disaster, 25 people are now confirmed dead -- and the story rightfully still dominates the headlines in the region's newspapers. But if you pull back and look at the rest of the country, it's Hurricane Ike that's dominating coverage. Actually, that's even true in the rest of California. The Metrolink tragedy doesn't even warrant a front page mention in the San Francisco Chronicle, strangely enough. (Perhaps because it's day two... but with so much news coming out on Saturday about what might have happened, you'd think SF readers would be interested enough for it to warrant a tiny mention on P1).
Above, for a second day, the LA Times goes with a powerful image of the destruction of the Metrolink train. The Daily News, however, opts to go with a dull shot of... the train tracks. This picture doesn't convey any of the tragedy or even make you pay attention. Quite a dull choice. And that headline? "Point of No Return" -- really, we gotta go with a cheesy cliche this soon?
The Bakersfield Californian asks the question on everyone's mind: Why didn't the engineer stop? It's quite a busy front page -- kudos for managing to get a regional, national and local story all out there, but with so many refers it's impossible to count, and even an ad, it's a mess. Meanwhile, I'm surprised that La Opinion -- with its snappy headline -- put the actual story inside.
The Santa Barbara News-Press may be a mess behind the scenes, but they at least can put together a smart-looking front page. The Ventura County Star goes the most emotional of the bunch -- a shot of LAPD officers saluting their fallen comrade, combined with a list of the 25 who died. (I would have expected the Daily News to go this route.)
The Daily Breeze, interestingly, plays up the USC game bigger than any other local paper -- and in a way, provides a nice, upbeat contrast to the pics of destruction also on the page. I approve -- good way to provide some relief. And then there's the Orange County Register... which I guess figured the San Fernando Valley isn't local enough for them.
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