We're being asked that question today. Why did we start our editorial series on hunger on the front page — in black and white? My 9-year-old daughter even asked me that over breakfast this morning. First, as I hope you can tell already, we put a whole lot of thought into this series. We were careful in how we selected the topic, the name, the team that would work on it, everything.

An editorial series with in-depth reporting and investigative elements is extremely rare in our industry. So we knew from day one that we were entering unfamiliar territory — unfamiliar even to major metropolitan newspapers. We definitely learned some things with this project, and Publisher John Christie and I have written, led and edited 60 projects or more between us.

Here is a brief Q&A on some unusual decisions we made along the way with our series, "For I was Hungry:"

1. Why did you start it on the front page Monday, knowing it was opinion content (to a degree) and knowing it would be on the editorial page in days two through seven?

Answer: We felt the topic was new to Maine readers, should be one of the state's highest priorities, and we knew this would be one of the Kennebec Journal's and Morning Sentinel's highest-profile projects this year.

2. Did you do more on the Web than in print?

Answer: Yes, we did. We added a "writer's journal" online that is sort of a blog, offering Naomi Schalit's personal insights into reporting this project. We've posted extra photos and charts online. And, readers are commenting online already. We will keep this series in a prominent location on our Web site for months to come.

3. The paper looked so different Monday. Why did you print this series in black and white when it was on the front page?

Answer: We knew it would be black-and-white on days two through seven, as it will appear on the editorial page, inside the paper. So we opted for a consistent look. Also, we hoped this series and Monday's newspaper in particular would look starkly different to home subscribers and on the newsstands exactly because it is black and white, whereas our photos and graphics are in color on A1 every day and so are our competitors' front pages.

Did it work?

You tell us.