In fact, the night editor who oversaw this process was well known for tweaking headlines critical of the Pope so that by the final edition they were technically accurate but any sharp edge had been removed.

It's like people creating ads. They develop an awareness at the level of poets of the weight of each word and the implications of every juxtaposition.

It's actually a professional insult to claim that these people aren't aware of the full range of possible meanings of any short phrase they produce.

Of course, it's also important to their professional survival that the general lack of awareness of such skills gives them room for plausible denial. Yet another gap in the educational system that opens the general populace to propaganda in many forms.

In fact, the night editor who oversaw this process was well known for tweaking headlines critical of the Pope so that by the final edition they were technically accurate but any sharp edge had been removed.

It's like people creating ads. They develop an awareness at the level of poets of the weight of each word and the implications of every juxtaposition.

It's actually a professional insult to claim that these people aren't aware of the full range of possible meanings of any short phrase they produce.

Of course, it's also important to their professional survival that the general lack of awareness of such skills gives them room for plausible denial. Yet another gap in the educational system that opens the general populace to propaganda in many forms.

To be sure, I don't have a problem with CNN selling t-shirts. I would have a serious problem if they were asking their news staff to consider that fact as they go about the business of telling us about the world.

I see your point but how is this different from what news writers have always done? They write witty/punny headlines in an attempt to draw people's attention and sell more papers. Or maybe I should say "wrote," because that strategy started to backfire as more and more people started getting their news online; unfortunately puns aren't always search engine optimized. I remember reading an article where news writers were lamenting the death of the witty headline because now everything has to be so literal for search engine rankings.

To be sure, I don't have a problem with CNN selling t-shirts. I would have a serious problem if they were asking their news staff to consider that fact as they go about the business of telling us about the world.

I see your point but how is this different from what news writers have always done? They write witty/punny headlines in an attempt to draw people's attention and sell more papers. Or maybe I should say "wrote," because that strategy started to backfire as more and more people started getting their news online; unfortunately puns aren't always search engine optimized. I remember reading an article where news writers were lamenting the death of the witty headline because now everything has to be so literal for search engine rankings.

I hold the 4th estate to a different standard because it holds a specific purpose in how our country works. There's nothing wrong with profiting from headlines in whatever way makes sense. I think there's a lot wrong with a news publisher mandating it to their reporters or making it the core of their business model.

And, to be clear, I don't have quarrel with the individual reporter deciding to go for self and do what makes him the most money. I can judge him or her on an individual level. It's the corporate entity, however, whose motivations I question and who I worry would easily forgo the truth in exchange for the dollar.

Heh. I thought I might be able to play devil's advocate with myself but, you're right, you're not going to convince me.

I hold the 4th estate to a different standard because it holds a specific purpose in how our country works. There's nothing wrong with profiting from headlines in whatever way makes sense. I think there's a lot wrong with a news publisher mandating it to their reporters or making it the core of their business model.

And, to be clear, I don't have quarrel with the individual reporter deciding to go for self and do what makes him the most money. I can judge him or her on an individual level. It's the corporate entity, however, whose motivations I question and who I worry would easily forgo the truth in exchange for the dollar.

Heh. I thought I might be able to play devil's advocate with myself but, you're right, you're not going to convince me.

I know I won't sway you, but I think because headline writing needs to be done anyway, and the criteria for what makes a good headline remain the same, it's ethical and acceptable.

I know I won't sway you, but I think because headline writing needs to be done anyway, and the criteria for what makes a good headline remain the same, it's ethical and acceptable.

And I wouldn't have any problem if we weren't talking about news (if it was fiction/entertainment/etc., as Paul McCartney has said, he and John Lennon would sit down at the piano and say, "let's write us a pool.") but I think much of our national news media problem has to do with the unbalanced relationship between the business of journalism and journalism itself. To add incentives around writing that sells t-shirts to a news reporter's mandate is to further blur those lines and further separate us from the ultimate goal of news — to find and tell us the truth.

Because who cares about the truth if I got a bonus for selling out all the medium size tees?

And I wouldn't have any problem if we weren't talking about news (if it was fiction/entertainment/etc., as Paul McCartney has said, he and John Lennon would sit down at the piano and say, "let's write us a pool.") but I think much of our national news media problem has to do with the unbalanced relationship between the business of journalism and journalism itself. To add incentives around writing that sells t-shirts to a news reporter's mandate is to further blur those lines and further separate us from the ultimate goal of news — to find and tell us the truth.

Because who cares about the truth if I got a bonus for selling out all the medium size tees?

And I wouldn't have any problem if we weren't talking about news (if it was fiction/entertainment/etc., as Paul McCartney has said, he and John Lennon would sent down at the piano and say, "let's write us a pool.") but I think much of our national news media problem has to do with the unbalanced relationship between the business of journalism and journalism itself. To add incentives around writing that sells t-shirts to a news reporter's mandate is to further blur those lines and further separate us from the ultimate goal of news — to find and tell us the truth.

Because who cares about the truth if I got a bonus for selling out all the medium size tees?