Readers were dismayed by the front page that the Philadelphia Daily News had planned for Thursday's edition — so much so that the newspaper decided to scrap it.
The newspaper was set to feature a piece by columnist Will Bunch criticizing what he called a "police coup" in Ferguson, Missouri. It tweeted a preview of the front page on Wednesday night, which featured the subheadline "They Protested A Police Shooting In Missouri & Were Met By An Army," along with this photo:
The photo was immediately met with protest on Twitter. Here's a sampling of some of the responses:
. @PhillyDailyNews why would you use that particular photo?!
— rowdy ryan petzar (@petzrawr) August 14, 2014
.@albertstumm @PhillyDailyNews please reconsider. It's racially charged and very likely to improperly frame the situation.
— Rob N (@robcnagel) August 14, 2014
The Daily News responded by changing the photo to this:
"Based on reader reaction we're changing our front page image — so we actually do listen," Bunch explained on Twitter. It was the second time that night that the front page had to be scrapped. The newspaper ripped up an earlier plan in order to focus on events in Ferguson.
The Philadelphia Daily News wasn't the only newspaper to go back on its choice for a front page design. USA Today also ditched its original front page Thursday, which said that Ferguson police were attempting to "seek order."