Comments on: What a Difference a Headline Makes http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/01/what-a-difference-a-headline-makes/ one woman’s view from a place by the zoo in the city Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:34:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Denise Donaldson http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/01/what-a-difference-a-headline-makes/#comment-27 Denise Donaldson Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:50:30 +0000 http://www.gloriaferris.net/?p=30#comment-27 It would seem that the once-venerable PD has followed the lead of some of the TV news broadcasts, most notably that on Channel 19. The teasers thrown out on that channel all evening are very obviously geared toward titillating the audience, even when it comes to the weather report. When one tunes in, one discovers that the headlines are invariably either mightily overblown or downright misleading. But in our tabloid-loving country, it's the outrageous that grabs the ratings and readers, so journalism now panders to our collective taste for chills and thrills. Is the PD adding to the dumbing-down of America, or just giving the people what they want? It would seem that the once-venerable PD has followed the lead of some of the TV news broadcasts, most notably that on Channel 19. The teasers thrown out on that channel all evening are very obviously geared toward titillating the audience, even when it comes to the weather report. When one tunes in, one discovers that the headlines are invariably either mightily overblown or downright misleading. But in our tabloid-loving country, it’s the outrageous that grabs the ratings and readers, so journalism now panders to our collective taste for chills and thrills. Is the PD adding to the dumbing-down of America, or just giving the people what they want?

]]> By: Jill http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/01/what-a-difference-a-headline-makes/#comment-26 Jill Sun, 08 Jan 2006 14:53:52 +0000 http://www.gloriaferris.net/?p=30#comment-26 I prefer the NYT headline because it sounds as though the men had died an impossibly long time before the rescuers were ever going to get down there. This accident haunts me because for years, images of one of my favorite movies, Matewan have also haunted me, and that's a result of having seen the devastation of strip mining, firsthand, through volunteer work in a Southeastern Kentucky mining town in the early 80s. To say that how the mining industry had shaped the landscape and the people there was frightening is a gross understatement. I prefer the NYT headline because it sounds as though the men had died an impossibly long time before the rescuers were ever going to get down there.

This accident haunts me because for years, images of one of my favorite movies, Matewan have also haunted me, and that’s a result of having seen the devastation of strip mining, firsthand, through volunteer work in a Southeastern Kentucky mining town in the early 80s. To say that how the mining industry had shaped the landscape and the people there was frightening is a gross understatement.

]]> By: Tim Ferris http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/01/what-a-difference-a-headline-makes/#comment-25 Tim Ferris Sun, 08 Jan 2006 01:25:18 +0000 http://www.gloriaferris.net/?p=30#comment-25 Now that we've read the article, I tend to see why you had the initial strong reaction to the PD headline--it's all a question of attitude and approach. The PD is no longer the patrician, classy, refined, restrained, dignified publication it was when, back in the late '50s, I was a proud carrier, with 110 Sundays and 50 dailies, and I think Tom Vail was the publisher or editor. Today, the PD seems to leer, to offer a hot insiders' tip, to proffer innuendo, to suggest an impropriety, to report the facts while steering you to read between the lines. What's that Italian saying? "The fish rots (stinks?) from the head down"? Who owns the paper today? Who's the publisher? Who's the editor? Who had the final say on that "snarky" headline? (All you young people--did I use the term "snarky" properly?) Now that we’ve read the article, I tend to see why you had the initial strong reaction to the PD headline–it’s all a question of attitude and approach. The PD is no longer the patrician, classy, refined, restrained, dignified publication it was when, back in the late ’50s, I was a proud carrier, with 110 Sundays and 50 dailies, and I think Tom Vail was the publisher or editor. Today, the PD seems to leer, to offer a hot insiders’ tip, to proffer innuendo, to suggest an impropriety, to report the facts while steering you to read between the lines. What’s that Italian saying? “The fish rots (stinks?) from the head down”? Who owns the paper today? Who’s the publisher? Who’s the editor? Who had the final say on that “snarky” headline? (All you young people–did I use the term “snarky” properly?)

]]> By: George Nemeth http://www.gloriaferris.net/2006/01/what-a-difference-a-headline-makes/#comment-24 George Nemeth Sun, 08 Jan 2006 01:06:15 +0000 http://www.gloriaferris.net/?p=30#comment-24 The whole proper procedures thing made me angry. It speaks to the inflexibility of organizations... The whole proper procedures thing made me angry. It speaks to the inflexibility of organizations…

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