Several papers featured stories about pending airline mergers, but the Trib's unique visual solution and clever headline made it the best designed. Part of the challenge was finding a way to show multiple merger scenarios (United & Continental, United & Delta, American & Northwest, etc.) with a single image. Most papers opted for a photograph of a jetliner – but this kind of image doesn't say “merger,” and is too specific to a particular airline. The Trib's solution shows two planes “joining hands,” like a brother and sister or husband and wife. Unlike a photograph, these generic images were not specific to any particular airline, making them representative for all the merger scenarios described in the thoughtfully presented short-form text below.

The headline was particularly appropriate: the airlines are more likely to “stand” if they merge, and likely to fall if they don't. (Maybe “Divided they fall” should have been part of the headline?) “United” is a key word for the Trib because Chicago is United Airlines' base of operations. Changes at United could have a big impact on Chicago.

Room for improvement: The United package is sophisticated in its visual presentation and headline. But this package is an island of creativity on a page that consists of little more than headline-byline-textblock-jumps. The other stories on the page could seem more engaging if the same level of attention was applied.



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