Print and be damned: Cambridge News accidentally goes to press with dummy front page headline
A local newspaper has apologized after misplacing its front-page headline and accidentally splashing with the dummy text used as a guide for writers.
The daily paper ran a front page headlined “100PT SPLASH HEADING HERE” and the strapline: “THIS IS A STRAP OVER TWO DECKS WITH A CROSS REFERENCE TO A PAGE HERE.” The dummy text was accidentally printed in place of the intended headline of “£2m for ‘sex lair’ school,” which referenced a story featuring on page 11.
Editor-in-Chief David Bartlett said: “I want to apologise sincerely to our readers for this mistake, which happened due to a technical problem. We are still looking into how this happened and want our readers to know we take this seriously.”
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The paper, which is owned by Trinity Mirror and which, according to ABC, has about 12,000 readers, did manage to print the correct version in its Cambourne edition.
People took to social media to mock the “epic failure”.
Epic fail: Cambridge News front-page headline clanger https://t.co/KJxlTGQDIOpic.twitter.com/FHTcgHCasZ
— Anorak (@TheAnorak) December 6, 2017
One branded the mishap the “nightmare” of any editor.
Every publishers and designers nightmare! BBC News - Cambridge News: Paper apologises over headline gaffe https://t.co/9VVhHgCfuG
— Tim Jones (@jcccreative) December 7, 2017
Another poked fun at the paper, saying:
Apparently Cambridge is so quiet they can't even fill the headline page. pic.twitter.com/ecaKzA40BU
— Thomas Penfold (@penfold_thomas) December 7, 2017
One person suggested it was a great chance for the paper to be thrust into the spotlight:
When Cambridge gets it's twitter moment, it's either predicting JFK's assassination, or this. ♡ my city ⚡️ “When a newspaper headline goes wrong ”https://t.co/HxnaFDUt9o
— UMNIA (@UMNIAmusic) December 7, 2017
