Friday, February 29, 2008

Why the Media Pisses Me Off

Misleading Headlines
(Part 1 of an ongoing series.)

“Clinton raises $35 million in 1 month” was the headline of an AP story that appeared on my local paper’s website this morning. That is so not the story.

I see this type of careless headline writing on a daily basis, and I’m taking a stand.

I remember a few things from my journalism classes at the University of Delaware. One is that the “lead” of the story (generally the first sentence) should be a microcosm of the entire story. It should accurately describe the main theme of the story. The rest of the story fills in details in order of importance (or chronologically when appropriate).

The lead of this story describes Hillary Clinton’s “remarkable financial recovery” and goes on to point out that despite her efforts, Barack Obama was still outspending her. This is an interesting point, but does this lead convey the most newsworthy aspect of the story? I think not. In the fifth paragraph we discover that Obama has likely raised over $50 million in the same time period. This will shatter the record for fundraising in a primary election. But I’m not saying that should have been the lead.

Here’s the deal: When there are multiple angles to a story, it’s the reporter’s and editor’s jobs to decide which angle is the most important. The lead and headline of the story should follow suit.

If the story is about the Democratic candidates’ fundraising, than the news might be that both candidates saw huge increases in donations. Possible headline -- “Candidates see huge boost in fundraising.”

If the story is about comparing the two candidates’ campaign financing in general, than the news is that Obama continues to crush Clinton in dollars brought in and dollars spent. (This was introduced in the second paragraph, and reported in more detail later in the story.) Possible headline -- “Obama outpaces Clinton in fundraising, spending.”

If the story had been only about Clinton’s fundraising, which some might infer from the headline, the headline still doesn’t convey the most important point. Raising $35 million in a month is not news in and of itself. It is only newsworthy when compared to other stats. So the story might be that Clinton’s fundraising more than doubled from January to February. Possible headline -- “Clinton donations more than double.”

So, I know you’ve been waiting patiently to hear my humble opinion on how this story should have gone, so here it is:

“Despite boost, Clinton fundraising still lags”
The lead is pretty close, but I think it should include the fact that Obama’s campaign is outspending and out-fundraising Clinton’s.

So what happened at the AP? Was this just a mistake? Just a bad day for the headline writer? Did he or she just skim through this story before typing up the headline? Did the editor really feel that the headline reflects the biggest news in this story? Or is this an indication of the writer or editor leaning toward Clinton? I don’t like any of the above possibilities. I expect better from the Associated Press.

Disclaimer: Please don’t add a comment pointing out a typo or misplaced comma. I know I was not a great copy editor (or headline writer, for that matter). That’s why I’m ranting on a free blog site instead of writing or editing for the AP, the Times or the AJC.

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