The remaining days of the vertical Hartford Courant banner are numbered.
A set of new prototype horizontal (the traditional style) banners has been developed by graphic artist Chris Moore, and folks in the newsroom are being invited to offer their opinions of the collection. (Seeking staff reaction, by the way, is a good idea.)
Just for the record, though, the correct term for the big letters across the top of the front page is the banner, not the masthead.
True, the term masthead is sometimes used these days (see the Merriam-Webster definition below), but it is a secondary usage born, I suspect, out of frequent misuse. The masthead, as you can see, is that box inside the paper that identifies the publication and its officials.
2 a: the printed matter in a newspaper or periodical that gives the title and details of ownership, advertising rates, and subscription rates b: the name of a publication (as a newspaper) displayed on the top of the first page
Those at The Courant who fancy themselves as professional newspaper wordsmiths might want to make the correct distinction.
Here is the Chicago Tribune’s masthead:
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Interestingly enough, the Pocket Oxford English dictionary puts the banner definition above the ownership box definition (making one wonder whether the banner definition has been borrowed from English [British/Fleet Street] usage):
mast·head / ˈmastˌhed/
• n. 1. the highest part of a ship’s mast or of the lower section of a mast.
2. the title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the front or editorial page.
∎ the listed details in a newspaper or magazine referring to ownership, advertising rates, etc.
And then there’s the Compact Oxford English dictionary:
1. the highest part of a ship’s mast. 2. the name of a newspaper or magazine printed at the top of the first or editorial page.
Webster’s New World says it’s the listed details of ownership, etc., and doesn’t even mention the definition as the banner.
In any case, I’d propose staging a ceremonial lowering of the masthead and then pitching it into the Connecticut River. The current managers could then test their skills at staying afloat with an old-fashioned logrolling contest. They’ve already demonstrated their remarkable skills in this sport, while less nimble former colleagues have been tossed into the churning black waters, never to be heard from again. I can’t think of a more platform-agnostic sport than birling.
Too bad the Pocket Oxford English dictionary and Compact Oxford English dictionary have it backwards.
Here is a link to the New York Times’ masthead. Note that the URL even calls it a masthead. I think there is another link slugged webmastheadnottobeconfusedwithbannerornameplate.
The Chicago Tribune calls it a masthead, too, and have moved the form into the online world.
As to the second point: If you throw a manager into the river and he floats, is he a witch?
I think other terms for the big-type “Hartford Courant” and such on a newspaper’s front page are “flag” and “nameplate.”