Editors take note: be careful what accompanies a headline…

July 18, 2025 by  
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With so many newspapers flowing through our company every year, it would be no surprise that occasionally something very unusual would be noticed. Such is the case with the November 22, 1963 issue of THE ATLANTA JOURNAL, their “Second Extra”. This edition has a curious–if not macabre–combination of headline and photo.

As would be expected of an “Extra” of this date, the large & bold headline proclaims: “KENNEDY KILLED”, but immediately beneath it is a photo of a street sweeper pushing his trash cart. The cart has what appears to be the bottom half of a mannequin protruding from it, with the caption: “Sweeper Means What He Says”, as if related to the assassination report.

One might excuse the editor, for I’m sure that, in rushing this edition to the streets as quickly as possible, the planned headline was removed and the Kennedy death report was quickly inserted with little thought as to what else was scheduled above the fold that day. Indeed, the “Third Extra” has the same headline but a photo of the Kennedy motorcade immediately after the shooting.

This issue remains one of the more unique & “interesting” newspapers of the 20th century, and a great example to editors everywhere to be aware of headlines & unrelated photos that appear in close proximity.

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Filed under: Death Reports, Great Headlines, Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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One Response to “Editors take note: be careful what accompanies a headline…”

  1. The July, 2025 Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers… : History's Newsstand Blog on July 19th, 2025 3:07 am

    […] Editors take note: be careful what accompanies a headline… […]

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