Page One teaser

Veterans Day — like the anniversaries of D-Day and Pearl Harbor — carries expectations for certain readers. Many expect the Post-Dispatch to note the occasion with a “Page One story.”

Our Veterans Day coverage today prompted three readers to call me. Two saw the same thing and had opposite reactions.

At the top of Page One, we had what we call a skyteaser — the words “A SALUTE TO OUR VETERANS.” It directed readers to an extensive STLtoday photo gallery about Veterans Day.

Metro cover photo

One reader thought it was great to recognize veterans at the top of the page.  Another was upset at the lack of a story on the front page. That reader signaled out the story at the bottom of the front page about pregnant women and obesity as being less important than Veterans Day.

The online tribute plus the five-column photo on the Metro cover and a four-column photo and events listing on Page 3 of Metro didn’t offset the A1 oversight, that reader said.

A third reader — who identified herself as a World War II vet — was disappointed that the Metro front photo didn’t picture a female veteran. Lots of women are serving in Iraq, she said, and that deserved recognition.