'DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN' ... YEAR 2000 STYLE

By: Staff Reports Some Newspapers Jump the Gun





While many newspapers across the U.S. Wednesday morning ran headlines such as "Too Close To Call," a few published blaring notices of a George W. Bush victory.


The New York Post front page said simply "Bush Wins!" Other newspapers that declared a GOP victory include the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bush's hometown Austin American-Statesman, and the San Francisco Chronicle.



Christian McDonald, Internet editor at the Austin newspaper, said that while 59,000 copies of the Bush-victory edition were printed, not many made it to the public. The newspaper believes only a couple of hundred copies were sold by street vendors before a final version reflecting the Florida recount was released.



Baltimore's SunSpot.net has photos of the Austin paper's front declaring Bush victory, along with a revised final version.



Yahoo! is running an AP photo of the Post-Dispatch front page.



In Norfolk, Va., The Virginian-Pilot went with a "Cliffhanger" head before finally running with a "Bush - Barely" lead for the final edition. Both versions can be viewed on the paper's Web site.



The Hartford Courant in Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman's home state of Connecticut published online a photo montage of various incarnations of the newspaper through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, beginning with "Down To the Wire," and ending with "Bush ... Maybe."



At the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota, the first edition headline was "Down to the Wire." Editor David Holwerk said a 2nd edition was ready to go with the headline "President Bush," but was killed just before going on the press after an early-morning AP bulletin indicated Florida was tightening. The paper's final head was "Bush? Maybe."



In Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Gazette's last edition, with a 1:30 a.m. deadline, had "Barely Bush." But an online editor went back to the office around 3:15 a.m. and changed the story on the paper's Web site. This scenario was repeated across the country.



CNN.com offers a slideshow of newspaper covers from across the country on their homepage.


If you know of other papers that prematurely declared a Bush victory, please e-mail us. E&P Online will be updating the story throughout the day.







Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher.