EXTRA! EXTRA! The election of Sen. Barack Obama, the first black U.S.president, sent millions of Americans scurrying to the streets in search of copies of newspapers documenting the historical moment. From coast-to-coast, daily papers reported unprecedented demands as post-election papers flew off newspaper stands and convenience store shelves.

According to Editor & Publisher, papers from The New York Times to The Los Angeles Times — and numerous dailies in between — were besieged with requests that, in turn, sparked expanded press runs nationwide, with millions of extra copies eventually hitting the newsstands. For newspaper executives and circulation departments accustomed to years of declining sales, the surprise rush required extra press runs — a rarity for the struggling industry in the age of the Internet.

The New York Times printed 35 percent more than the usual number of copies for individual sale on Wednesday, an increase of about 150,000. Later, it printed 75,000 more. In addition, for the fifth time in its history, The Times used 96-point type in its header to simply proclaim "OBAMA." Previously, only the resignation of Richard Nixon, the first man on the moon, the New Millennium and the Sept. 11 attacks garnered such a large font on the paper.

"America Makes History: Obama Wins," read USA Today, while The Wall Street Journal declared, "Obama Sweeps to Historic Victory," and The Los Angeles Times proclaimed, "It's Obama." Copies of Wednesday's major papers sold on eBay and Craigslist for more than $200. As newsstands emptied across the country trying to keep pace with demand, people headed online, flooding media entities such as Newseum's online Page One gallery at Newseum.org.

In Philadelphia, vendors reported that election issues were selling better than the commemoration for the Philadelphia Phillies' recent World Series championship.

The Philadelphia Tribune distributed a special newsstand edition of the paper on Wednesday, Nov. 5 carrying full coverage of the presidential election, a first in the historic black newspaper's 125-year history. Like many other papers, The Philadelphia Tribune turned its Center City headquarters into a makeshift newsstand for the hundreds of walk-up costumers who inundated the paper throughout the day. Much like voting the day before, visitors seeking the paper were diverse. Most telling were the number of seniors, some on canes, who felt it was necessary to personally claim their keepsake copies. The paper decided by Wednesday afternoon on an additional press run of several thousand copies.

"We have been the keepers of our history for over a century and found it incumbent upon us to dedicate our resources to reflecting this defining moment in the lives of African-Americans and our nation," said Robert Bogle, Philadelphia Tribune's president and CEO, in a statement.

"It's history, it's history," Pat Washington of Virginia Beach, Va., told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., for a story on its Web site, saying that she was frustrated when she couldn't find additional papers Wednesday morning. "I went from one place to the other to the other," Washington said, adding that she found two additional copies to add to her collection of items chronicling historic events. "My mission was to pass them out to my family and to save them."

Thomas Baldwin, a Washington state retiree, bought 10,000 copies of The Bellingham Herald's election wrap-up edition on Wednesday. The front page carries a photo of the Democratic president-elect and the headline "Obama wins." The Herald still had the plates for the publication when Baldwin called and was able to fill his special order.

According to the paper's coverage, the 67-year-old said he has a friend in California who sells copies of newspapers that are decades old at trade shows and makes a profit. .....

Please Login or Register to post comments on this article

Close Comment  |   Read More Comments Hide More Comments

Comments * :

Please do not enter the HTML tags(Maximum 600 characters).