Road to Beijing

For many U.S. athletes, the road to the Beijing Olympics has gone through Omaha, Neb., and Eugene, Ore. That has meant exhaustive coverage of the track and field and swimming qualifying trials by The Register-Guard and World-Herald.

Changes in the Daily Miracle

The right-hand column of today's Plain Dealer in Cleveland begins "Dear Reader." It's a column by Publisher Terry Egger explaining changes in the paper that take place on Tuesday. The column also includes a link to a nicely done "Making 'the daily miracle'" that explains "24 hours in the production of your Plain Dealer." It's the kind of transparency in media that inspired Newseum architect James Polshek.

New look in New Jersey

The Record of Hackensack, N.J., sports an at-a-glance summary of important stories of the day in a design that made its debut today. Editor Frank Scandale describes the changes in this column for readers. The change brings "more visuals and guides to the best stories inside the newspaper" in an update of the previous design. The billboard front page has been used before. Hundreds of historic front pages in various formats and designs are on display in the Newseum's News Corporation News History Gallery.

Sports mania in Detroit

Detroit newspapers faced a double challenge when the Red Wings played Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals and the Pistons met the Celtics in the eastern conference playoffs. Both teams lost, prompting both the Free Press and The News to use "The Pitts" in a main headline. About 2:30 a.m., the Free Press said on its Web site: "Still in control" after the Red Wings' loss in Game 3. There was no coverage of the Pistons. This morning's Freep used the entire front page in a Stanley Cup Finals Edition. It featured a column and the same sentiment as its Web site: "Wings aren't about to panic now." The Newseum's film "Press Box: History of Sports Reporting" reminds us that sports is news. And Detroit newspapers often prove it.

Moment of silence

If you have time to look at only one front page today, Gene Mater of the Newseum suggests the one page be The Beijing News. But while front pages in China mark the one-week anniversary of the devastating earthquake, news organizations in other parts of the Asia have moved on to other stories, Mater reports. China is among the countries featured in the Newseum's World News Gallery.

Reporting From a Disaster

Suspicious of foreigners, the junta ruling Myanmar (Burma) has been slow to allow relief into the country after Cyclone Nargis killed tens of thousands and left a million people homeless. The Newseum's Time Warner World News Gallery notes the Myanmar .

How is the news being reported from a country without a free press? Some news agencies are reporting from other Asian countries. Sources have included diplomats, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others inside Burma. Citizen journalists have provided information and images, including to CNN's iReport. A Myanmar journalist shot video for The Associated Press, and an AP story describing survivors' journey to high ground appeared on The Denver Post front page.

Countdown to Primary

With one day remaining until critical primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, the states' largest newspapers report beyond candidate appearances. The Indianapolis Star sent a reporter across the state to ask voters about their choices. The Charlotte Observer analyzed what it would take to win North Carolina and identified two key territories. The Newseum is archiving key coverage in the 2008 presidential campaign.