Madison Taylor

Thursday, we’re going pink.

Yes, like pro football players with their pink shoes and countless other entities, we plan something special to markBreast Cancer AwarenessMonth this year.

To wit: We’re going pink.

Thursday all four of our section front pages will be produced on pink newsprint (the backs of those pages will as well). The one-day new look coincides with the production of a special section aboutbreast cancer that will be inserted into the newspaper that day.

This is the first time the Times-News has produced a newspaper on pink newsprint, something the neighboringGreensboroNews & Record has done a few times in recent years. I believe once the N&R printed it’s entire run on pink newsprint. They had great response to doing so, retired editor John Robinson told me.

In the past, we have produced a pink ribbon on the front page. A couple of years ago we talked about going to pink newsprint as a reminder to readers aboutbreast cancer, its dangers and the potential for recovery due to early detection. The pink color and ribbon is a way to spread awareness. Many other entities have done the same with different colors, but none so successfully asSusan G. Komen for the Cure organization. Until the onset of Halloween, pink is the color that most dominates October.

This year, our production manager Darryl Ayers was able to procure pink newsprint early enough for us to plan for this particular day.

“The color is only produced for October,” Ayers said. “It’s made at the August Georgia mill owned byResoluteForestProducts.”

Ayers said 1.3 metric tons of newsprint will be needed to publish the newspaper fronts in pink and .65 metric tons for the tab. It costs about $150 more per ton than standard newsprint.

Numbers aside, it’ll make for an unusual looking newspaper on Thursday, that’s for sure. But it should be memorable as well, something of a keepsake.

And we hope a reminder that will perhaps influence someone to donate toward the cure, or more importantly, make women aware of checking themselves for any signs of this killer disease.

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