An Example of Nutty Headline Writing

MoneyMagnetMagnate

14 years ago

One of the requirements of working at FOX News, is that you not attend journalism school.

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GT

14 years ago

I saw this one recently (U.S. News). The situation is by no means humorous, but the headline is a good example for this thread:

Toddler found after twister dies in hospital

Doesn't the writer or editor read these things before publishing?

GT :confused:

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Dennis Gaskill

14 years ago

If not for those occasional diction bloopers the news would be totally depressing.

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MoneyMagnetMagnate

14 years ago

Headline not really wrong grammatically ...just wrong in so many other ways...:p
Good for Harry - Bad for Lohan

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Kay King

14 years ago

Somehow I don't think it would be better as

Woman in Coma Hit by Triathlon Cyclist

We'd be asking how he got so far off course...

News headlines are difficult - you need to get the high points of the story into just a very few words.

Think about it - in 7 words the headline included

the victim by gender
the attacker
the event
the victim's condition

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Dennis Gaskill

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Somehow I don't think it would be better as

Woman in Coma Hit by Triathlon Cyclist

We'd be asking how he got so far off course...

News headlines are difficult - you need to get the high points of the story into just a very few words.

Think about it - in 7 words the headline included

the victim by gender
the attacker
the event
the victim's condition

That's where some punctuation would come in handy:

Woman Hit by Triathlon Cyclist, in Coma
Woman Hit by Triathlon Cyclist - in Coma

Of course...

Woman Hit by Triathlon Cyclist is Comatose

...makes no sense at all. Still just seven words though.

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Dan Riffle

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Somehow I don't think it would be better as

Woman in Coma Hit by Triathlon Cyclist

We'd be asking how he got so far off course...

News headlines are difficult - you need to get the high points of the story into just a very few words.

Think about it - in 7 words the headline included

the victim by gender
the attacker
the event
the victim's condition

Triathlon Cyclist Puts Woman in Coma

I actually find this more intriguing because I don't know how it happened.
Rewording to remove "hit" makes the headline a touch more mysterious.

...And it's one less word.

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GT

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Kay King

Somehow I don't think it would be better as

Woman in Coma Hit by Triathlon Cyclist

We'd be asking how he got so far off course...

News headlines are difficult - you need to get the high points of the story into just a very few words.

Think about it - in 7 words the headline included

the victim by gender
the attacker
the event
the victim's condition

You are absolutely correct. I used to be a reporter and editor for our local newspaper and headlines often gave me the biggest headache!

How about this one?

Struck by triathlon cyclist, woman in coma

The other challenge that reporters and editors face is the demand for quick turnaround time for their stories and the publications in general. In reality, they don't have a lot of time for tweaking questionable titles or stories.

GT

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seasoned 14 years ago

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate

Headline not really wrong grammatically ...just wrong in so many other ways...:p
Good for Harry - Bad for Lohan

She doesn't look like lohan to me!
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- Dan Riffle 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by seasoned
  
  She doesn't look like lohan to me!
  
  You haven't seen Lohan lately. Unfortunately for her, I can see how the mistake
  could happen.
  
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  Raising a child is akin to knowing you're getting fired in 18 years and having to train your replacement without actively sabotaging them.
  
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AmazingDiscoveries

Banned 14 years ago

[DELETED]

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Dan Riffle 14 years ago

Originally Posted by AmazingDiscoveries

Yikes. Fox News. Sheesh.

Sure, you can blame this one on Fox. However, bad headlines have existed far longer than Fox News.
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An Example of Nutty Headline Writing

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