By RUSS GOODALL
Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle

If Michael Whitley ever needs to find a new career, he might give the Dodgers a call. He would make a terrific pinch hitter.

Whitley, of the Los Angeles Times, jumped in at the last minute for Tim Ball of the San Jose Mercury News to run the Small Newspaper Design workshop, and did the kind of job any baseball manager would be looking for – he was a hit.

Whitley, who has made several stops at small newspapers, wasted little time getting to the main theme for the day – photography.

"This is the fastest way to improve the design of your sports section," Whitley said.

To that, he made two key points:

■ 1. Get more impact through better photo quality usage. Whitley says you can do this by being ruthless in your editing – one great photo is much better than several good ones.

■ 2. Use the best photo available.

While that seems obvious, it is the type of photos that are chosen that are the problem. Use one that shows dramatic action or emotion over photos that show literal moments described in the story.

Whitley made his point by comparing front pages of several small newspapers from around the country, including several by a couple of workshop attendees.

He said a straightforward approach to photos is the starting point.

He gave keys on what to do and what not to do when preparing to design a page.

First on what to do, the most important thing is to "plan ahead," according to Whitley.

Whitley spelled out what needs to be done in planning ahead: To do this you need to fill in the editors on both pages and story specs.

Then talk to the photo editor about a likely shape – if a certain shape is a must, you need to communicate this to the photo editor in time to relay the shape to the photographer.

Finally, Whitley said to establish a "criteria change." Don't keep yourself locked in to a specific design. You can take a few minutes to come up with alternate designs for the kinds of different shaped photos you receive.

As for what not to do, Whitley made that clear – do not hope for a shape.

All that does is eliminate the possibility of using the best photo, favor more scenic photos and create a page built around nothing spectacular. It also puts deadline ease above good design.

Whitley went on to talk about several other ways to improve your sports section.

■ Cutouts: Make sure these are necessary, purposeful and stylish. They should draw attention to content and not away from it. Don't use a cutout to show that the story is a feature, and certainly don't use a bad photo.

■ Photo illustration: Using photoshop does not mean that the picture is now a photo illustration. A photo illustration is something you have to work on ahead of time, because these are rarely accomplished on deadline. However, spending a lot of time on creating a photo illustration is not a valid reason to publish it.

■ Photo assignments: Be selective when making these, and make sure you give the photographers as much information as you can to help them get what you want.

In the end, according to Whitley, it is about the reader. He says to make sure your design, and in particular the photo, captures their eyes and lures them in.

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