Man Lands on Moon: A Front Page Story

On July 20, 1969, thousands of newspapers in the United States and around the world reported that three American astronauts—Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins—had made it to the moon. You can see how these newspapers covered the story in the "Dateline Moon" exhibit at the Newseum.

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Was the moon landing the paper’s lead story?

In most American papers it was the lead story because Armstrong being the first man to walk on the moon was a source of national pride.

Was the story buried underneath other news articles?

This was true for some newspapers in the Soviet Union because the Russians were not proud that they had lost the space race.

Was the story covered at all? Some newspapers in China did not include the story of astronauts landing on the moon at all. Why do you think this happened?

The story was not included because the Chinese government did not want to publicize that other countries were more advanced scientifically.

How was the headline written?

What did the reporters focus on? How large was the type in the headline?

Read the newspaper headlines carefully. Did they focus on the fact that the astronauts were Americans or that the moon landing was an advancement for all of mankind?

If you were a reporter in the United States in the 1960s, how would you have written the headline? What if you were a reporter in the Soviet Union?

Three photos were available for this story. The photo editors could choose among a fuzzy picture of the television broadcast, a public relations photo of the three astronauts, or an artist’s rendering of the moon landing.

Newspaper editors had to make a tough decision. Which photo would be the most dramatic? Which one would convey the most information? Do any of the photos seem fake or not authentic? Which photo would sell the most copies of the newspaper? Which photograph would you choose? Which photograph did newspapers decide to use? How large were the photos that appeared in the newspapers?

Answering these questions will help you understand the different ways the moon landing was significant. Yes, American astronauts had won the space race. But, this also was an important event internationally and for all humankind.