Random Pixels recognizes....

Click image to enlarge.

...the staff at El Nuevo Herald for pulling out all the stops and producing a gripping front page with pictures that dramatically conveyed yesterday's dramatic events in Libya that culminated in the capture and death of Moammar Gadhafi.

Legendary Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan once told a writer that her "idea of a successful lead is one that might cause a reader who is having breakfast with his wife to "spit out his coffee, clutch his chest, and say, 'My God, Martha! Did you read this!'"

So, who says a newspaper's front page can't elicit the same reaction?

The editors of the Miami Herald; that's who.

The decision makers at Miami's last remaining English language daily newspaper chose to produce a front page tailor-made for the Sesame Street crowd; not sophisticated, adult readers.

In a note to the newsroom, here's how Herald interactive editor Nancy San Martin explained why her paper chose the vanilla approach to a historic news event.

Dramatic 1A display.

We wrestled with photo choice and continued to have a difference of opinion on whether we made the right call.

Among the issues to consider when making call is the difference between online and print: Online visits have a choice on whether to look at the graphic images (there is a warning posted online.)

Displaying it in paper does not give readers a choice.

Late this afternoon as I chatted with Channel 10's Michael Putney, I asked if he had seen both front pages.

"Yes," he said.

What did you think? I asked.

"El Nuevo's front page had real news," he said adding, "I don't know why they [Herald editors] are protecting their readers."

But as good as El Nuevo's front page was, we think it takes a back seat to today's New York Post cover. It's a home run!

Front page images via the Newseum.

For more front page images click here.