Front-page is a term used to describe the first page of a publication, such as a newspaper or magazine. This page contains the most important news stories for the day and is often where the headlines are located. The back pages, on the other hand, are where less important articles and advertisements can be found.
Some examples of front-page news include sports achievements, political scandals, and major disasters. The more important the event, the higher up on the front page it will be. For example, a cricketer scoring five wickets in an innings would likely be front-page news whereas someone who puts on a good performance at a local art exhibition might only make the back pages of the paper.
In a legal sense, the term front-page can also refer to something that is protected by the First Amendment or by another statutory exemption. For example, three Jane Does who were sex trafficked as minors sued Backpage in 2014, arguing that the site had violated their rights because it allowed sex traffickers to post ads for them. The lawsuit failed to convince a district court but, in a 2-1 decision, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Backpage’s actions fell within the scope of its CDA Section 230 protections.
The term front-page can also be used to refer to an article that is buried deeper in the paper than usual, such as one of those long-form feature stories on the last page. This might be an article that is about a lesser-known part of a city’s history or a more obscure issue facing it. A popular magazine might have an entire section devoted to these topics in its back pages.
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