We racked our brains and nothing came.
Our front page on September 14 - our last issue before the referendum - has to be historic. It has to be uplifting. It has to capture the moment, the feeling in a country poised to take its most momentous decision in centuries. It has to be amazing. We racked our brains … and nothing came.
Well, to be honest, we did have some ideas. A photoshoot of prominent Yes voters? But this movement isn't about celebrity. A beautifully designed front page by a Yes-supporting artist? Been there, got the T shirt. And the poster. And the car window stickers …
No, it had to be something new, and different. So we asked ourselves: what has been most impressive, uplifting, persuasive and inspiring aspect of a campaign which has reinvigorated political debate in Scotland?
And the answer to that question is YOU - or at least those of you who have been talking, cajoling, persuading, debating … on the streets, at work, in bars and restaurants and at thousands of public meetings all over the country.
The truly radical aspect of the independence referendum debate has been the growth of a genuinely grass-roots movement which has changed Scotland forever, regardles of the outcome of the vote.
So what's why today we are asking you, our readers, to help us create a front page which truly rises to the occcasion. We're asking you to send us your "Yes selfies", hundreds and hundreds of them, to create a wall of photographs backing a Yes vote.
OK, this could go wrong. Maybe we won't get enough photographs. On the other hand, it could be amazing - and ambition always triumphs fear.
If we receive more pictures than will fit on our front page (although we're taking steps to create more space) we'll publish more inside the paper.
There are just a few "rules". The photographs have to be "selfies", not snaps taken by someone else. It would be better if each one features just one person. Please can we see your face and not your bare bottom (or worse). No swear words. And each selfie should feature some Yes-associated items - badge, scarf, T-shirt, poster … Also, you need to be over 16, because we're not allowed to publish pictures of under-16s without parental permission.
We've set up a special email account, so please send your selfie photos to ref@sundayherald.com. Remember, that by sending in your photo you are agreeing to it being published.
All photographs should be received by 11am on Tuesday, September 9.
This might be a bit of a risk - but we know you won't let us down.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article