Counting playoff games and going back to the start of the 2014 season, Monday’s Seahawks contest with Carolina marked the 25th special game section we have produced at The Seattle Times in the past 14 months or so.
We call the print sections our “Seahawks Extra” – it’s a bonus section beyond the regular sports section. Here’s a quick inside look at how we do them.
If you don’t live in the Seattle area and don’t get to see our printed work, this might be new to you.
Or maybe you hate recycling a paper, whatever! Check it out.
After the disheartening loss to Carolina on Sunday, the Hawks fell to 2-4. This is what the print cover looked like.
Dean Rutz took the photo and our photo editors, led by Fred Nelson, helped to narrow the main image down from the dozens we transmit to select the cover shot. Our normal pages are vertical of course, but for the Seahawks Extra, we have an optional design for a sideways page, too. Last year, we did 12 of 16 games as sideways covers, FYI.
On site for the Panthers game, we had three photographers (Dean, Bettina Hansen and Mike Siegel) plus videographer Katie Cotterill.
Rich Boudet designed the cover and wrote the headlines. The “Fourth Alarm” headline is a reference to the Hawks blowing leads in the final quarter this season, plus it was the team’s fourth loss – and then there was the fire alarm at the Panthers’ hotel early Sunday morning. Puns are great in print.
Each week, on the morning after a game, we print an 8-page special Seahawks section. It features a poster-style cover, a huge inside spread, full color on every page, a drive chart graphic, stats, and tons of big photos.
If you’re curious, here’s what the two previous “Seahawks Extra” covers looked like this season.
Rich Boudet is the Sunday Sports Editor at the Times and is the lead designer for the newspaper’s sports section. He is a UW and Franklin High School grad who grew up on Queen Anne Hill and now lives in Mountlake Terrace. Follow him on Twitter @richboudet