Page One philosophy

Page One is the face of the newspaper, giving readers clues about our personality and our character, what we think our readers need to know, what we think they'll find interesting, what we think is worth fighting for, what we think is relevant to their lives.

For the home-delivered reader who invites us in for breakfast, we must make ourselves welcome in a hurry, with an introduction that's interesting and informative, forceful when there's a reason for it, but never insulting or — worse — dull.

For single-copy readers scanning a row of boxes on a street corner or a line of racks in a store, Page One has to have one overriding message: "Buy me. I'm worth it."

It has to recognize that with all the sources of news these days, most readers will already be aware of yesterday's breaking news. We have to tell them why it matters, what's going to happen next, what it all means. We have to make sense of it.

Even if Page One does a great job of bringing the world and the nation home to our readers and making sense of them, it will fail if that's all it does. The franchise — what we can do better than any of our competitors — is local news and information.

We must have at least one very good, well-displayed piece of local enterprise available every day, something readers haven't already heard about, don't already know, can't get anywhere else. The stories are only part of the package; strong headlines, attractive design, informative graphics, compelling photographs and strong ties to seattletimes.com must draw the reader in and create a complete experience.

Not every reader will be interested in everything we do on Page One, but between the body of the page and clear, well-designed and easy-to-read teasers, there should be something there for almost everyone.

Page One should not only tell readers what we are, but where we are, a geographic place different from any other. It should reflect the people of this place in all their diversity, helping them know and understand each other. It should have a sense of humor and a sense of good, recognizing that not all news is serious or bad. It should have a sense of humanity, of the wonders and trials of life, of fighting for those who can't fight for themselves.

It must not talk down to readers, recognizing that they will decide what's important, what's interesting, what's relevant to their daily lives. And if we don't provide it, they won't need us.

No Page One will accomplish all these things on any day, let alone every day. But we will come a lot closer if this is what we strive for every day.