Misleading/wrong media headlines

[NAB]

Seems to be a growing trend these days. How about posting examples you come across..

Here's mine for a start....

Castanet headline running today..

"Detroit mayor jailed in Canada"

Huh? Would it even have been worthy of mention in "world news" if the reality was noted as \

"Detroit mayor to spend night in jail AFTER trip to Canada" (Caps mine).

Oh well, just another molehill in the minds of some I suppose ;-)

Nab

[Glacier]

What a great topic. How about this one...
Declining home sales could turn around in 2009: report http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... eport.html

It is so misleading because its stated by a guy IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING HOMES, and secondly, the article talks more about how house prices will continue to fall.

[Glacier]

The best news headline of the year!
http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mianus2rz7.jpg

[Nebula]

The best news headline of the year!
http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mianus2rz7.jpg

That must be some anus.

Good topic. I would add, in addition to headlines, ledes (or leads as some people spell them), which are the first few sentences of a news story, meant to give you enough information about what is happening to want to read the rest of the article.

Pet peeves with headlines/ledes:

1. Any use of the term "lucky to be alive". Example: A young man is lucky to be alive after his car went off the highway Tuesday and narrowly missed colliding with a propane truck.

I see this often and it is a miscarriage of journalistic ethics. It is one thing to report, "The fire chief said the young man is lucky to be alive." It is something else when the reporter throws the phrase in. Report, darn it. Don't embellish.
2. Any stretching of the feelings or ordinary people. Example: Town in mourning after eight die.

The whole town? Are you sure? If three poeple are happy about something else, does it still mean the town is in mourning? We all see this type of embellishing. "A neighbourhood is on edge after a robbery Monday night." (Put in a lede after one neighbour talks about how worried he is to a reporter.) "Seniors are expressing alarm..." (Yeah, two expressed alarm, so the reporter turns into 'seniors', which can mean two or all of them.)

[NoOne]

great subject nabcom

a favorite of mine is from October, 2008

Shots fired on the Western Kentucky University campus

to the slow minded people reading this headline you might think something tragic happened.

people/reporters jumped to conclusions before the facts could be determined.

an hour later,

Deborah Wilkins, a school official says they haven't found any witnesses or evidence to suggest weapons were associated with a "fistfight" that took place today on the school's satellite and main campuses.

The lock down has ended and officials have declared all clear. No gunfire was confirmed, but WKU officials say four individuals have been taken into custody for questioning.

the headline should have read,

""Four questioned in gunfire hoax""

a student blogged

To be honest, I’m still not 100% sure of what happened on campus that day. Everything was “a confirmed claim of an unconfirmed shot” or something skewed like that.

reporting the so called news quickly (all be it incorrectly) sells and gets attention.

thousands were scared because of this headline unnecessarily. several schools were locked down for no reason other than the media reporting the first thing they heard.

waiting for the next panic headline
43 shots fired in Downtown Kelowna last night

did i say they were at Prospera Place. and there was a hockey game.

sure would make you buy the paper. and its all true too.

[Glacier]

Dikshit pleads guilty to wire fraud

Need I say more?

[Nebula]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2009/01/02/7898866-sun.html

[Glacier]

Just to get under WD's skin...
Trapped By 300,000 Volts; Couple Lucky To Be Alive

Nearly frozen pup lucky to be alive

Teen lucky to be alive after train accident

Motorcyclist lucky to be alive following crash with SUV

Snow lucky to be alive after crash

[Nebula]

[unclemarty]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/242161/lu ... mpilation/

Also:
castanet poster lucky to be alive after attempted thread de-railment!!

[Dayleen]

How about stupid headlines like that from about 10 years ago in Vancouver "Man found buried in Stanley Park. Foul play is suspected" Duh ..really...are you sure he didn't bury himself.

[Piecemaker]

How about stupid headlines like that from about 10 years ago in Vancouver "Man found buried in Stanley Park. Foul play is suspected" Duh ..really...are you sure he didn't bury himself.

[usquebaugh]

Sexual temple rocked by allegations

It would be funny, if it wasn't referring to something very serious.

[Glacier]

Sexual temple rocked by allegations

It would be funny, if it wasn't referring to something very serious.

Is that what it said? It is gone now.

[usquebaugh]

Sexual temple rocked by allegations

It would be funny, if it wasn't referring to something very serious.

Is that what it said? It is gone now.

I sent an email.