When I wrote for publications (all, you know, three or four in my lifetime) I took pride in my headlines. I knew that a good headline was paramount in getting people to read your stories. I tried to make them catchy and interesting, but never misleading.
I've run into a few stories lately where the headline is completely misleading. Here's some examples:
Miss USA Rima Fakih Once Won Radio Stripping Contest in 2007
Sounds like the new Miss USA took her clothes off, right?
From the actual story: "Fakih did not actually take her clothes off. She just bumped and grinded on stage with a stripper pole.
Again? MAX train leaves 4-year-old boy at station Sunday night
Normally, the Oregonian kisses TriMet's ass, constantly painting Portland's mass transit provider in a positive light almost as if they were a PR firm cutting out the middle man. I found this headline a bit inflammatory in that the accompanying video looked more like a 4-year-old wasn't attended to properly and ran off the MAX right before the doors closed. The next day the headline for the EXACT SAME STORY was changed to:
Distracted riding? Video shows 4-year-old darted off MAX train while dad talked on cell phone
These are the only two examples I could come up with that I'd seen recently. I guess it's important to read the full story and not judge a situation by someone's inability to convey a situation in the constraints of a short headline.
Gooch:Out
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