The UK’s esteemed local paper, Cambridge News, has been forced to apologise after its front page went out without a headline.
Apparently, its front page was supposed to be about a “sex lair” local school, however, it merely published instructions for the waiting sub-editor that read “100pt splash heading here”.
How the gaffe managed to get all the way to newsstands is anyone’s guess, but arguably highlights the budget cuts and staff layoffs many newspapers now have to endure.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief David Bartlett apologised for the stuff-up and said it was unclear how it had happened but blamed “a technical problem”.
Bartlett added: “I want to apologise sincerely to our readers for this mistake, which happened due to a technical problem We are still looking into how this happened and want our readers to know we take this seriously.”
Readers of The Cambridge News were quick to take to social media to suggest alternative headlines. One suggesting “austerity ate our headline” as a possible replacement, while another added: “The 100PT Splash heading… doesn’t get as much coverage as it should.”
