JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Having no interest in the National Basketball Association, I tried to avoid reading anything about the LeBron James sweepstakes, which culminated last week with the superstar leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and signing with the  Miami Heat.

The most memorable part of the whole thing for me will be the brilliant front page that editors of the Cleveland Plain Dealer came up with to mark the occasion.

Here it is: 

That’s what greeted the readers of The Plain Dealer (weekday circulation, 268,000) when they opened their papers last Friday morning.

Besides the telling photo, the page consisted of one word in bold print and then a small text block, which you can’t make out here, pointing to James’ finger. The words are: “7 years in Cleveland. No rings.”

In a Poynter Online piece, writer Charles Apple described the front page as “the ultimate salute to the man to whom Cleveland had poured out its collective heart, only to be left hanging.”

If you want to read more about the creative process that led to this one-in-a million front page, you can read Apple’s piece here.

Bravo, Plain Dealer!