It was a struggle, but some of the front pages of the late editions of the national newspapers did seek to reflect the breathtaking nature of the Brexit vote.
Although editors faced the difficulty of keeping up with the momentous news that developed throughout their usual publishing times, some produced extra early morning editions in which they managed to report the central story.
Both the Daily Mail, a paper that called for Britain to leave the EU, and the Daily Mirror, a paper that urged voters to stay, used the same headline: “We’re out.”
The Sun, another leave supporter, chose “Brexsplit”. And an inside spread was headlined “Oop Yours!”, a reference to the massive anti-EU voting in northern cities and Labour’s traditional heartlands.
And it even managed to produce a 6am edition, “See EU later!”, but it’s doubtful whether too many copies of it reached readers.
Although the Daily Express stuck to the pedestrian line, “Historic day for Britain”, in every edition, the other title that campaigned for leaving, the Daily Telegraph, changed up in the early hours to record the news.
Its main headline, “Britain backs Brexit”, ran over a picture of people in Sunderland celebrating the big margin of victory in their city.
And the paper was also swift to turn the heat on the leader of the opposition with an inside story, “Corbyn blow as Labour heartlands vote Leave.”
The Times, a remain backer, also noted the significance of that vote in the north east: “Sunderland starts shockwave that’s felt around world”. On its front, it went with a simple statement of fact: “Britain’s Brexit revolt”
The Guardian’s final edition cast the story forward by seeing it in terms of the implications for the political fortunes of the prime minister: “Cameron faces fight for survival as Britain sets course for Brexit”.
But this was a story where broadcast and digital media had the advantage of reporting in real time. For the newsprint reaction, we must wait until tomorrow.
