News-Record.com

I have heard from a lot of readers since we published the Wednesday paper. Their questions have ranged from "How did you come up with that beautiful front page?" to "What would you have done if John McCain had won?" to "What in the heck were you all thinking?"

Actually, we began thinking about our election results front page in early October. I asked our design director, Ben Villarreal, to design three different pages: one for an Obama victory, one for a McCain victory and, remembering the 2000 election, an it’s-too-close-to-call page.

Because all news is not created equally, we needed three different designs.

We considered an Obama victory to be one for the ages, with particular resonance in Greensboro.

Fifty years ago, a black person could not eat lunch downtown at Woolworth's. Then, four black college students sat down at the lunch counter in peaceful protest and kick-started a national movement. What has become known as the Greensboro Sit-ins is one of the prouder moments in our city's history.

Today, an African American man is poised to occupy the White House.

Story lines don't get much better than that.

Our proposed "McCain Triumphs" front page had a photo of the winner taking up the top two-thirds of the page. A story about his victory would have shared the bottom of the page with three or four promos to stories about the winners of other significant races.

The difference between the two pages is not an indication of bias for any particular candidate. As much as anything, it is based on history. Obama will be our first black president. McCain would have been our 44th white president. Our coverage of a McCain victory would not have diminished the importance of his achievement. Rather, the historical significance of Obama's victory elevated his.

I asked our reader panel their thoughts about the Wednesday front page. Ninety-eight readers of 120 who responded said they liked it. It was also included in a collection of best front pages from around the country.

I am interested in what you think about the coverage. Let me know.

Speaking of what you think, we now have the technology to allow reader comments on the stories on news-record.com. I invite you to register and join the conversation.