Soccer superstar David Beckham removes his uniform shirt after a game at Aloha Stadium in February and hands it off to two boys in the stands. The boys, each thinking the souvenir was intended for him, struggle over the shirt and over the next two months it snowballs into legal threats between the parents of the two best friends.

The other week, The Advertiser put the crux of that dispute on Page One, including a shot of Beckham bending over a railing and presenting the shirt. A smaller inset photo showed two children fighting over the shirt. The headline: "When good deeds go bad. Beckham's giveaway leads to threats, tattered friendships."

An interesting story to be sure, but was it worthy of the front page?

"The problems with the war, the economy, the political events and yes, sustainability, food and energy certainly have a higher priority for front-page printing," wrote Charles Lileikis from Hawai'i Kai. "Yet you have chosen to draw attention to a 'small-town'-type article that properly belongs somewhere in the center of the first section or even on the sports page. What standards do you use to make the decision?"

To be honest, we spent some time discussing exactly how to play this story. Editors thought it was of high interest and deserved the front page but perhaps not so prominently as the centerpiece on the page. Managing Editor/Content Marsha McFadden thought the story should be played at the top of the front page but with a reduced photo and a smaller headline.

The fact that we had such great photos of Beckham surrendering the jersey and the fight that ensued made it a natural for such big play. The story itself, while nowhere near important as the subjects Mr. Lileikis described in his letter, nonetheless was bound to have readers talking. It was accompanied on the front page by more serious subjects such as a City Council vote on rail, a local rice shortage, disciplinary action against go! pilots and Kamehameha Schools' attempts to recover a portion of a lawsuit settlement.

All in all, it was a pretty good selection of Page One stories.

The Beckham/jersey story represented the lengths to which seemingly normal adults would go to battle over something so trivial and, in my opinion, set such an embarrassing example for their kids. It included full comments from both sets of parents and let them state their case for possession of the jersey.

Stories that draw debate and strong opinion should always be considered for the front page. The online version of the story drew more than 250 comments, and most people had an opinion as to who the shirt belonged to and/or what should be done with it. The story was picked up nationally by other news outlets as well, so the story had wide exposure.

A woman from Maui called to say that it must have been a "slow news day" to print the story on the front page, and an online reader said he thought he was subscribing to the National Enquirer when he picked up the paper.

The story was solidly reported and written with relevant photos and generated a good bit of discussion. That's a good recipe for Page One.


Mark Platte is senior vice president/editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at mplatte@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8080.