Headline schadenfreude

There but for the grace of God go I — and everyone else who works in newspaper layout and design.

Here’s what the Daily Express sent out in its first edition:

It was a story about two ITV presenters, and it was laid out across the centre spread, which means that the story and the headline went across the fold in the middle of the paper.

Apparently somebody didn’t like the word “finally” — either they didn’t like it going across the fold, or there were too many similar-sounding headlines elsewhere in the edition.

So they changed it to this:

However, technically, this page is actually two pages. The two pages are sent to the press individually, and lined up seamlessly side-by-side for printing.

Unfortunately, when the pages were changed, only the left-hand one was sent — smushing the changed version up against the original version. The result was stellar in its awfullness:

The subhead makes it.

(via The Guardian, which posted this about its competitor with admirably restrained glee. I think people in glass houses, etc. etc.)