Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Headlines That Do Not Deserve To Be Headlines...

...seem to be an all too often occurrence. Maybe it is because of all the competition in the news media, what with the numerous newspapers, the online media sites, the new magazines, the tabloids, and the television and radio media. Still though, despite the amount of competition to grab a headline, there are certain things that just don't seem worthy of the headline spot.

For example, today I am spending the day with my mom, and she pointed to the New York Daily News (the newspaper), and said to me: "Does that deserve to be a headline, the Daily News should be ashamed of itself". I took a gander at the headline to which she had pointed, and there on the cover of the April 4, 2007 final city-edition of the NY Daily News was printed the following headline above a picture of Rolling Stone Keith Richards:

I Snorted My Dad

Now can you imagine that headline gracing the front page of your local newspaper. I imagine that it, or something close to it appeared on newspapers and other media throughout the USA today; yet I could imagine much better headlines that would have been, in my opinion, much more newsworthy. There are several wars and violent outbreaks, uprisings, and the like taking place in the world today. There are the 15 British sailors still held captive (yes I know their freedom was promised, but last I saw their releaser is set for tomorrow). There are natural disasters that take place everyday. There are murder mysteries, their are missing persons, there are found persons, there are babies being born, their are politics being made (such as the Congress voting to ban the term Global War On Terrorism in official publications - go figure), there are political nominations being made, there is the run for the presidency of the USA, there are obituaries, there is even a story about a 5 footed toad - all of which, I think, would be more headline worthy than Keith Richards claim to have mixed some of his dad's ashes (post cremation) with cocaine and then snorted them.

A headline along those lines is something I would expect on the Star or National Enquirer. Who knows, even they may have had a more newsworthy headline on their latest edition. I just cannot imagine what it is that brought the editors of the New York Daily news, or any other newspaper to place such a headline on the front page in front of all the other news that is out there. I was disappointed that Fox News television had a spot on this earlier today. I was likewise when I saw or heard it elsewhere. Sure, people may have interest in Keith Richards, and what he says, and claims to have done (although the latest I heard was that he said this was a joke and he never really did it), and maybe there is a place for it in the entertainment section of the news. Yet, I must ask: Should so called 'news' like that be newsworthy enough to make the front page headlines? Apparently my mother does not think so, and for at least the second or third time in my 51 plus years as her son, I agree with her 100 percent!

I will be emailing some of the local news media in my area, and some of the national news media to voice my discontent with their headline content. Yes I know they have a right to print it, but I too have a right to voice my disgust over what they find newsworthy when so many more important things are happening in the world today.

All the best,
Glenn B