Iraq is completely off the front page of our local paper.

[spanone]

Our Gannett owned newspaper (USA Today and papers or tv stations in over forty states). I can only assume that they (Gannett) doesn't deem it pertinent enough to command front page status. We could be screwed.

[grasswire]

1. complain

And get your local VFW riled up about it. Ask for a special box on page one with a body count daily.

[Hoppin_Mad]

2. The 9 (?) GI's killed a few days back barely caused a blip -eom-

[Newsjock]

3. "Real Life, Real News"

Google this phrase and learn it. It's the latest corporate initiative from Gannett that all 100 or so of its newspapers are required to follow.

It doesn't come right out and say things like "no Iraq on page 1," but it does urge more prominent coverage of more important topics -- like your kids' report cards. No, I'm not making this up.

That said, however, the decision as to what goes on the front page on any given night at each of Gannett's papers is made entirely at that paper, not by any corporate office. This means that, when you don't like what's on your local front page, you need to call your local executive editor or managing editor and politely tell them why you don't like what they're doing.

Gannett editors are terrified of such calls, because they live in perpetual fear that they're about to be reassigned to Zanesville or someplace like that. (No slight to our friends in Zanesville, of course.)

[Dissenting_Prole]

4. which likely means

that the local paper is reporting local news, with their own reporters, rather than reprinting bogus Pentagon PR releases off the newswire. Count your blessings.