Sports column: It’s hard to create a cover story
Released Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 4:00 AM
One of the biggest challenges in putting together The Vicksburg Post’s annual football preview, “Playmakers,” is deciding on the cover.
Deciding who to send out there isn’t that difficult. We ask local high school coaches from Vicksburg High School, Warren Central High School, St. Aloysius High School, Porter’s Chapel Academy and Tallulah Academy to select representatives from their teams.
The difficult part is “how.”
This is our 49th Football Preview issue, and coming up with an original idea that works within the technical parameters of a magazine cover isn’t easy.
“Playmakers” will be printed as an 8 1/2 x 11 inch product, which is the size of a regular letter-size piece of paper. Looking at a photo at this size, it quickly becomes clear that it’s not easy to cram five people into a photo that size. It needs to be framed in a way that makes it look functional as well as eye-catching. It also needs to leave space for a title at the top and a cover blurb, which further limits what can be done.
It’s truly a creative conundrum.
Luckily, Vicksburg has no shortage of colorful backdrops. Featured this year is the Southern Heritage Aviation Foundation Museum. Located at Vicksburg Tallulah Regional Airport in Mound, the museum displays both vintage and modern aircraft, as well as historical exhibits honoring area veterans.
If you have never been to the SHAF Museum, you should definitely do so. It is truly a hidden treasure. Special thanks to SHAF President Patty Mekus and her staff for opening their doors and turning it into a playground for us for a few hours.
Cover models Decorey Knight Jr. of Vicksburg, Maddox Lynch of Warren Central, Thompson Fortenberry of St. Al’s, Conley Johnston of PCA and Eli LaBove of Tallulah Academy rode in and around several of the vehicles inside the SHAF hangar.
For the cover photo, they all climbed into a World War II-era jeep with a giant American flag in the background, which resulted in a striking photo that met all of our aesthetic and technical requirements.
My only regret is that the players quickly ditched the military helmets that came with the jeep. I thought it was cool, but the players didn’t like it. Oh well. I still think this cover photo is one of the best in recent memory. Pick up a copy of the Playmakers next weekend and decide for yourself.
It will be included in the weekend print and e-editions on Saturday, Aug. 24. It will also be available in our office at 1106 Washington St. If you miss it in the newspaper, individual articles will be posted on vicksburgpost.com. Several articles have already been posted last week.
But Playmakers is more than just a preview issue. It’s also a handy reference guide to the current Warren County football season. In addition to the usual team previews and player features, it’s packed with helpful information you’ll want to keep on hand all year long. So pick up a copy, skim it, devour it, and put it away – you won’t regret it.
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Ernest Bowker is sports editor for the Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com.
About Ernest Bowker
Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He has been with The Vicksburg Post since 1998 and is one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper’s 140-year history. A native of New Jersey, Bowker is a graduate of Louisiana State University. He has won more than 50 awards for his coverage of Vicksburg local sports from the Mississippi Press Association and the Associated Press.
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