Read on Twitter
For folks wondering how that ad in the Tennessean could have gotten through without being noticed - here's my theory.
I used to work as a designer - admittedly it's been a long time since I was in a newsroom, but here's how it went in my day.
A thread
1/
I used to work as a designer - admittedly it's been a long time since I was in a newsroom, but here's how it went in my day.
A thread
1/
Advertising & editorial are often in different parts of the building - these days probably different parts of the world. In fact it's quite common for the two to not physically interact. With the outsourcing of many news desks, lack of interaction is increased.
2/
2/
When designers lay out a page they don't necessarily see the ads. Often what they see is a blank box or a placeholder that may or may not have the name of the company on the ad space. Either way, designers are usually laser focused on the 'newshole' - not the ad space.
3/
3/
When the desk is ready to send the pages to press, what should happen is that a proof is made. A proof is a print of the entire page. Since the Tennessean ad was full-page, the editorial desk would find little reason to make a proof since no news content was on it.
4/
4/
HOWEVER, the desk can - and should - view a preview of the page on the computer. A preview would convert the page from it's skeletal form (empty ad boxes) to its actual print version (full viewing of all content, including ads).
5/
5/
Again, since this was a full-page ad, no one probably even went to that page on the editorial side to preview it - again no news content.
6/
6/
Consequently, no one in editorial would have seen that page until they got a copy of the full paper after it went through the press run. By then, unfortunately, it's a published edition for the whole world to see.
7/
7/
But of course, someone in the advertising department sold that ad space. It was full-page 4-color, which ain't cheap. Now why the ad dept. didn't proof it first - or did and approved it - I guess we'll find out.
8 - end thread
8 - end thread
