Above the Fold

If you want publicity in the media, an old saying in the Newspaper industry is "above the fold". This is when a story is on top, on the front, above the folded paper (think NY Times, not tabloid style). This is the first thing your eyes will see and you will read the headline and at least scan part of the story.

In the Times Union, the local paper of record for the Capital Region of NY, including Saratoga, the above the fold story in both the print edition and the web edition is the story of The New York Racing Association (NYRA) banning Ernie Paragallo's Paraneck Stable horse from running any races at NYRA tracks. Officially Paragallo is listed as authorized agent for the Stable, the owners are officially his 2 daughters. The headline in the web edition states: NYRA bans Paragallo's Paraneck Stable.

The story gets top billing over the Masters Golf Coverage and the Major League Baseball scores of last night.

On page 2, below the fold, in tiny print in the print edition (and not in the web edition at all) is a wire report stating that Churchill Downs received full accreditation by the NTRA's Safety & Integrity Alliance.

The lesson here: in this sport the above the fold story is more than likely to be about the ills of our sport and the people in it. Don't blame the media, but change it from within. Everyone in the industry, and those who support it and love it, have the ability to run an ethical operation and support and care for the animals that make this game possible. If you run a clean house we are all better for it and you don't have to worry about the only above the fold stories being negative ones.