Across America, Newspaper Front Pages Reflect A History Still Being Written

Newspapers went to press for Wednesday's edition without knowing who would win the presidency – and indeed, that outcome is still unclear at this publishing.

So what does a newspaper editor do when there's no answer yet for the question on everyone's mind? You go with what you know so far.

At the Tampa Bay Times, the big news was that Trump had clinched Florida's electoral votes.

In Peoria, Ill., the Journal Star's headline was a twist on a word used with great frequency in the past four years: "Unpresidented."

Many newspapers noted that Election Day voting had been straightforward, even though a result in the presidential race remained unclear.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that voting had gone smoothly — but that the presidential race remained undecided, and the two U.S. Senate races in Georgia could be going to runoffs.

Elsewhere, election results shared front-page real estate with the other story: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Central Maine's Kennebec Journal, for instance, noted state records for both voter turnout and coronavirus infections.

In California, where the state's support for Democratic nominee Joe Biden was never in doubt, the headline of the San Francisco Chronicle reflected that the election's outcome would be decided elsewhere — in states including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

And some newspapers sought to capture a mood: of a nation waiting anxiously to learn what comes next.

The Baltimore Sun eschewed photos of voters or candidates, and instead showed a somber image of the White House, illuminated against the night.

And on its front page, the Columbia Missourian captured the anxiety of many Americans about the too-close-to-call election.

Under the headline "Still Counting" was a photo of one person, waiting and watching to learn the outcome.

Will Thursday's front pages show a winner?

Like the presidential contest, it's just too soon to tell.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.