Wednesday 16 April, 2014
Today's picture of the day competition has a runaway winner - a runaway rhea to be precise. The photograph above of it looking like the Rapeseed Ness Monster was taken by Tim Bradshaw and distributed by the Mercury Press. The bird, as every paper is eager to tell us, is 6ft tall, and has 6in claws that are capable of disembowelling a human - whom it could catch easily, should it be so minded, since it can sprint at 45mph. Quite scary then.
The bird has been missing from its home in Brent Pelham, Herts, for a month. Her owner, Jo Clarke, says it was spooked by a hunt and escaped. She spent four hours trying to find it, but then gave up. "I got it to follow me, because you can't herd them, but it got away. I haven't really bothered since. I can't outwalk it. I can't outrun it. Since then, there's been no point."
Today's picture of the day competition has a runaway winner - a runaway rhea to be precise. The photograph above of it looking like the Rapeseed Ness Monster was taken by Tim Bradshaw and distributed by the Mercury Press. The bird, as every paper is eager to tell us, is 6ft tall, and has 6in claws that are capable of disembowelling a human - whom it could catch easily, should it be so minded, since it can sprint at 45mph. Quite scary then.
The bird has been missing from its home in Brent Pelham, Herts, for a month. Her owner, Jo Clarke, says it was spooked by a hunt and escaped. She spent four hours trying to find it, but then gave up. "I got it to follow me, because you can't herd them, but it got away. I haven't really bothered since. I can't outwalk it. I can't outrun it. Since then, there's been no point."
A cyclist spotted the bird "trotting along" the edge of a field near Nuthampstead last Thursday, and Bradshaw saw it on Sunday near his home in Anstey. He took the photograph at the top and the one on the right.
The Times used the picture above across the top of page 4 - by far the best display for that photograph - but it was accompanied only by a two-line caption.
The Telegraph led page 3 with the story and chose the picture on the right as its main image, with the "monster" photograph much smaller directly underneath. The two didn't sit happily together and double column seemed too small. The paper did, however, give us a map so we could trace the bird's flightless flight.
The Times used the picture above across the top of page 4 - by far the best display for that photograph - but it was accompanied only by a two-line caption.
The Telegraph led page 3 with the story and chose the picture on the right as its main image, with the "monster" photograph much smaller directly underneath. The two didn't sit happily together and double column seemed too small. The paper did, however, give us a map so we could trace the bird's flightless flight.
Of the papers that ran a combination of two pix and a story, the Express seemed to come out best - and put it in the most appropriate place on page 9.
The Mail surprisingly ran it way back in the book, and under a heading that told us a man was on the loose in Hertfordshire.
The most bizarre treatment came from the Star, left.
Killer bird from hell? It comes from South Africa. Invading Britain? It lived in Herttfordshire. And what's with the giant kitten in the middle of the rape field?
The rhea was competing for "fancy that" space with Kim Jong Un's attack on a British hairdresser and for "jolly picture" space with the red moon.
The Mirror and Independent were far too busy with hungry Britain for such frivolities. But were they right to write it off?
Isn't this just the sort of picture story that's going to capture the readers' imagination and have them talking about your paper in the pub?
The Mail surprisingly ran it way back in the book, and under a heading that told us a man was on the loose in Hertfordshire.
The most bizarre treatment came from the Star, left.
Killer bird from hell? It comes from South Africa. Invading Britain? It lived in Herttfordshire. And what's with the giant kitten in the middle of the rape field?
The rhea was competing for "fancy that" space with Kim Jong Un's attack on a British hairdresser and for "jolly picture" space with the red moon.
The Mirror and Independent were far too busy with hungry Britain for such frivolities. But were they right to write it off?
Isn't this just the sort of picture story that's going to capture the readers' imagination and have them talking about your paper in the pub?
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