The Poynter Institute did a study to determine what newspaper readers look at on a page. They found that a high percentage of readers looked at images, read the captions and read the headlines. A much smaller percentage read the entire story beyond the first couple paragraphs. Simple design is better than complicated design. If the design gets in the way of the information, the designer has failed.
Large images are better than small images.
The designer should have one dominate image on the page and it should be the best image or the most important story. This helps the reader decide which story is most important. Don't trap white space in the interior of the page. The most important stories with the largest photos and headlines should be at the top of the page. Guard against making the page top heavy by using too many elements on the top.