So, I like jokes. And nothing is better than some good old fashion word play. And since most copy editors are overworked and under-appreciated, they sometimes come up with some pretty hysterical titles for stories. I'm guessing most of these were not on purpose.
"Caskets found as workers demolish mausoleum"
That's fantastic. I feel like this person wrote 20 headlines that evening and didn't even look back to see how obviously ridiculous this headline is. It would be a headline if they didn't find caskets. Then it would be a story from Law and Order.
"Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25"
If you want to talk about problems with numbers, you have a big one right here. Of course it drops off significantly at that point! If it's higher than zero then a journalist certainly calculated the statistic. I am sorry to the journalists out there who are wonderful mathematicians. On a side note, I actually like basic math. I just absolutely hated math when I got to calculus my senior year in high school.
"One-armed man applauds the kindness of strangers"
I just have to believe this copy editor was trying to be funny ... and he failed big time. At least I hope this was on purpose because if not, then I don't want to meet the people in this newsroom. This actually reminds me a little of Obama's special Olympic joke that wasn't funny at all.
These headlines came from:
http://www.oddee.com/item_96156.aspx
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Those silly mistakes are the most dangerous kind. While you can trawl your stories for every misplaced comma, misspelled word, and grammar mistake, you always overlook the big, obvious mistakes. They are always in the most ostentatious place too. When looking at the obvious places – headlines, subheads, and ledes, I breeze through them, I think to myself, there's no way I made a mistake here. That's the danger, complete brain shut downs. You can't see them coming, and there's no way of defending them really, except maybe a fresh set of eyes.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you, but when I'm writing a story, the headline is the finishing piece. When I have the time, I like to think it over thoroughly and come up with something clever and catchy. When I'm crunched for time, I basically slap on the first headline that comes to mind, hoping someone else will think of a better one. I think the latter example is why hilariously obvious or truly horrible headlines get printed: the writer was in a rush, and the copy editor didn't catch it.
ReplyDeleteThat gets us back to the importance of good copy editing, which I feel like we are constantly talking about in lab. But, then again, I suppose that is the purpose of the class.
Sometimes, the editors really do make genuine mistakes when it comes to checking headlines. the Headline "Stolen Painting Found by Tree" actually sounds alright when you glance over it. I think one of the best way to check for dangling modifiers and other headline mistakes is to say it outloud.
ReplyDeleteI think that dreaded deadline and the fact that editorial staffs have decreased in number also contribute to those type of silly headlines. Copy-editors - like all journalists - rush and get sloppy when a deadline is approaching and, unfortunately, there aren't enough editors to double-check their work.
ReplyDeleteThat "One-armed man applauds the kindness of strangers" headline was definitely not funny at all!