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Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 28 Aug, 2009 08.38
by Gavin Scott
cwathen wrote:Whilst we're on words/expressions not normally said, what is it this obsession the tabloid press have with the word 'romp' (or the equally common verb 'to romp')? Who actually says that in normal conversation/writing?
Apparently I "romp" in "gay haunts" - which makes me feel like some kind of villain in a Scooby Doo mystery.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 28 Aug, 2009 08.49
by Sput
Do you leave a trail of ectoplasm behind?
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 28 Aug, 2009 09.06
by Gavin Scott
Sput wrote:Do you leave a trail of ectoplasm behind?
If the money's right.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Thu 10 Sep, 2009 16.54
by Andrew Wood
Boyle is 'edging closer' to Porno -
BBC News
I was briefly mortified when I read that headline. SuBo of all people...
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 11 Sep, 2009 08.32
by SiGa
That made me feel quite ill the thought of her in a porno.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 11 Sep, 2009 18.19
by James H
A trend I despise is using quotation marks in headlines. I find it so sloppy, and there's always another alternative:
Bed sharing 'bad for your health' > Bed sharing could harm health
And at other times, the quotations are totally unnecessary:
Household wealth 'falls by £31k' > Household wealth falls by £31k
Nirvana 'dismayed' at Cobain game > Nirvana dismayed at Cobain game
New malaria 'poses human threat' > New malaria poses human threat
If they're going to use quotations, they should at least write:
Fatal overdose GP 'irresponsible' > Overdose GP "irresponsible" says manager
Most of the examples you've quoted are actually valid uses of quotations. They're used in headlines because it's not the opinion of the writer, but the opinion of the person who has given the quotation. The one you've written, 'New malaria poses human threat' is not acceptable because effectively it's reporting an opinion as fact. The former is better as it reports correctly that it is merely quoted opinion that a human threat is posed.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 11 Sep, 2009 21.53
by Alexia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8250609.stm
Q&A - How Do You Define Sex?
Erm...well where do I start?
Perhaps "gender" would have been better!
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 11 Sep, 2009 23.22
by Chie
A trend I despise is using quotation marks in headlines. I find it so sloppy, and there's always another alternative:
Bed sharing 'bad for your health' > Bed sharing could harm health
And at other times, the quotations are totally unnecessary:
Household wealth 'falls by £31k' > Household wealth falls by £31k
Nirvana 'dismayed' at Cobain game > Nirvana dismayed at Cobain game
New malaria 'poses human threat' > New malaria poses human threat
If they're going to use quotations, they should at least write:
Fatal overdose GP 'irresponsible' > Overdose GP "irresponsible" says manager
It's the same with hospital stories:
The patient
is said to be recovering.
The news reader or journalist adding 'is said to be' makes it sound like they don't trust the doctor's judgement. If you can't trust a doctor to diagnose someone's condition properly, then who can you trust? It's so silly.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Fri 11 Sep, 2009 23.24
by Jovis
Not really, it's an opinion, not a fact, as doctor's mostly give. It's their judgement, nothing about trust. And 'is said to be' normally means they aren't hearing from the doctor in any case.
Re: Bad Headlines
Posted: Sat 12 Sep, 2009 11.53
by Nick Harvey
I'm finding this thread slightly amusing.
If we take a step back from talking about journalists and use the name they always used to have, reporters, then all becomes clear.
Just check out the proper definition and derivation of the word 'reporter' and you'll all understand why the quotation marks and why the third person gets used.
In the days when the newspaper came out the following day, the quotes appeared much more sensible; now with twenty-four hour news, and the immediacy that brings, reporting something thirty seconds after it happens brings different challenges.