Newspapers - stupid headlines

[Esceptico]

Often newspaper headlines make my teeth itch. Prime example this morning is The Guardian describing David Barclay’s death as unexpected. He was 86. Did they think he was immortal? otherwise someone dying at that age seems pretty normal to me.

People also never just lose or get beaten by someone better on the day, they always “crash out” of tournaments.

Perhaps I should move to Tunbridge Wells...

[Tryke3]

Dunno sounds to me like you are the stupid one HTH

[HappyClappy]

I read that this morning and thought the same thing.

The Guardian’s thinking probably explains why we have put the country on hold so that coffin dodgers can have a few more months to live.

Unexpected would be my 40 year old cousin whose cancer was spotted so late during the lockdown she wasn’t even able to start treatment.

Edited by HappyClappy on Wednesday 13th January 07:53

[captain_cynic]

Tryke3 said:

Dunno sounds to me like you are the stupid one HTH

He's got a point about sensationalist headlines... But his obsession with the guardian is odd.

When it comes to sensationalism the Daily Mail leaves them for dead... And is itself left for dead by the likes of the Daily express.

I dislike sensationalist "eye grabbing" headlines so I don't buy printed papers, nor do in click on obvious clickbait (hence I do not often read the above mentioned publications) but can understand why they exist. They drag in the less intellectually endowed and make them angry, which has the effect of making them more l susceptible to advertising.

There is your answer as to the why of it. It's to bring you in and stop you from thinking critically when a flashing banner ad is shoved in your face.

As for adding in superfluous words like "unexpected"... You know these fkers are literally paid by the word.

If any of this annoys you, which I quite understandable, just simply stop buying these publications or frequenting their web sites.

Edited by captain_cynic on Wednesday 13th January 07:22

[Teddy Lop]

They work out what makes you more likely to click, sometimes even distributing multiple headlines for the same article to ascertain which garners more clicks (and often from whom), the result is that online free media is an icky mess of clickbait.

[Esceptico]

captain_cynic said:

He's got a point about sensationalist headlines... But his obsession with the guardian is odd.

When it comes to sensationalism the Daily Mail leaves them for dead... And is itself left for dead by the likes of the Daily express.

I dislike sensationalist "eye grabbing" headlines so I don't buy printed papers, nor do in click on obvious clickbait (hence I do not often read the above mentioned publications) but can understand why they exist. They drag in the less intellectually endowed and make them angry, which has the effect of making them more l susceptible to advertising.

There is your answer as to the why of it. It's to being you in and stop you from thinking critically when a flashing banner ad is shoved in your face.

As for adding in superfluous words like "unexpected"... You know these fkers are literally paid by the word.

If any of this annoys you, which I quite understandable, just simply stop buying these publications or frequenting their web sites.

I don’t have an obsession with the Guardian but as it is the least worst U.K. paper so the only one I tend to read. I don’t think bad headlines are unique to the Guardian.

[captain_cynic]

Esceptico said:

I don’t have an obsession with the Guardian but as it is the least worst U.K. paper so the only one I tend to read. I don’t think bad headlines are unique to the Guardian.

Apologies then good sir

I just think there are better examples of clickbait style headlines and as you've mentioned, it is one of the least worse papers (Private Eye excepted of course).

[Gary29]

If you're 86 and generally in good health, it's rare you just drop dead I'd have thought. More likely a slow decline and illness leading to death. So it could be argued as unexpected from that point of view, for the family at least.

I do hate clickbait headlines though.

[anonymous-user]

Gary29 said:

If you're 86 and generally in good health, it's rare you just drop dead I'd have thought. More likely a slow decline and illness leading to death. So it could be argued as unexpected from that point of view, for the family at least.

I do hate clickbait headlines though.

More likely a quick decline at that age - often flu/ pneumonia

[Johnnytheboy]

Anyone on Facebook? Join a group called: "'The Day Today' and 'Brass Eye' Headlines in Real Life"

No connection to the Chris Morris programme as such: it's just people posting links to news stories with ridiculous headlines.

Today's effort:

"‘Abnormally large testicles’: horse rejected from Hong Kong goes on sale"

If the Day Today reference means nothing, you need to watch this. What the Papers Say in Chris Morris's style:

[Jasandjules]

Well if it said "Elderly man dies, no great shock" you would not want to read it?

[Derek Smith]

The purpose of headlines is to get the reader to read the article.

A headline must be eye-catching, otherwise it is not fulfilling its purpose. All rather obvious. In the case specified by the OP, the meaning of unexpectedly is quite clear and the adjective is used correctly. What would one expect? [il]Old Man With No Known Life-threatening Medical Condition Dies[/i] – now there’s a headline that is about as useful as Small Earthquake in Chile; Not Many Dead.

The Guardian is rather restrained with its headlines, but has to make people read the articles.

The is also a tradition among journos, or at least there used to be, of clever/funny/bewildering headlines. My lad reported on a man who killed himself jumping from the roof of the Old Kent Road pub, The World Turned Upside Down. His headline was Man Jumps off the World, The World being the common name of the pub. Another of his, this time on the online version of a TV news programme, was for an investigation into a corrupt traffic warden. They set up cameras to catch him out. Bay Watch was a cracker.

You can criticise the headline for not getting readers to at least scan it as it’s accurate, it’s short and to the point. It got the OP to read some of the article at least. That’s a tick in the box.

[Johnnytheboy]

Derek Smith said:

The purpose of headlines is to get the reader to read the article.

I once heard an interview on the Media Show on R4 with a former news editor of the hated Daily Mail.

They had a term for headlines they designed to get an angry or shocked response from their readers: 'toast droppers'.

The theory being your average DM reader would read something like "Fury as Immigrants deface Princess Diana Statue" and be so shocked they would drop their toast at the breakfast table.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

When you're 86 and in good health, we won't be expecting you to die.
I also hope when I'm 86 people won't be expecting me to die...seems a bit off really, don't you think?

[Sophisticated Sarah]

My favourite headlines include the use of “slam”.

“Boris Johnson SLAMS Corbyn in House of Commons” for example. I just imagine them carrying out wrestling moves

[anonymous-user]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

When you're 86 and in good health, we won't be expecting you to die.
I also hope when I'm 86 people won't be expecting me to die...seems a bit off really, don't you think?

Unfortunately at that age it is much more likely you will die possibly quite quickly despite being in relatively good health

[juice]

https://twitter.com/angrypiln

[TwigtheWonderkid]

There's a whole different language used for the newspapers that we all recognise as normal but never use in actual everyday speech. Eg:

Tots = children over 1 but under 5
Coffers = company assets
Swollen Coffers = company assets having increased
Fracas = fight
Slammed = criticised
quizzed = questioned
caged = sent to jail
revellers = anyone having a good time
boffins = scientists and any specialist in a field
swinging = severe (as in cuts)
lambast = contradict
fury = irritation
flee = leave (as in a war zone)
romp = any kind of sexual activity
bustling = busy (a town)
sleepy = quiet (a village)
rampage = disorder involving teens
teens = 10 to 25 year olds

[Derek Smith]

Johnnytheboy said:

I once heard an interview on the Media Show on R4 with a former news editor of the hated Daily Mail.

They had a term for headlines they designed to get an angry or shocked response from their readers: 'toast droppers'.

The theory being your average DM reader would read something like "Fury as Immigrants deface Princess Diana Statue" and be so shocked they would drop their toast at the breakfast table.

Good point.

You say the Mail is hated, and it is the target of a lot of criticism, quite rightly so in my mind, especially under the hated Dacre. However, it's a very successful paper and source of online news, comment and titillation. It's moved away from having a bit of fun with headlines to an extent, probably due to the data they get online, and they have their own sort of code that becomes clear when you are a frequent reader. The content is risible, but it makes a profit.

The Guardian has bucked the trend by supplying quality copy free. I subscribe to Readly and get the Guardian and Observer, amongst a range of papers, to my tablet daily. You get some really interesting articles after the sports pages. In comparison to the other newspapers, the Guardian stands out.

I used to get The Times when I went for coffee while my wife was shopping. I miss it, but not enough to subscribe to the online version.

[NDA]

I was reading about a patient who escaped a mental asylum and ran into a launderette, raping two women in there before escaping. 'Nut Screws Washers and Bolts' was the headline that caught my attention.