What is page "real estate" and how does it work?
The front page of each section usually has a story that is the "main" story of that section.
This story will take up more "real estate" than any other single story on the page.
It is most likely to have a picture attached to it.
It may have a larger point size headline that the other stories.
A prominent front page story will have the headline,
a large part of the article and the full picture above the fold.
Why?
Newspapers are folded in half to go into the newspaper box or on the shelf to be sold.
If well done, the headline and the picture will draw the reader into the story.
Simple and efficient!
What about the rest of the stories?
There is a general meeting held to decide which stories will run in the next issue of the paper
and what their ranking of importance is.
Once this decision is made and the lead story is chosen,
much of the remaining placement is left up to design.
There are ever-increasing ways to promote stories within the newspaper.
Story length and any attached pictures, pull-out quotes, etc. will also have some input.
Story length is dependent on a couple of factors.
Local stories, once the length is decided by the editor, will pretty much run full-length.
Other news stories will be given as much real estate as needed,
based on the how much information the editor decides needs to be imparted to the readers.
Understanding the pieces of a page makes a big difference in the decision making process.