Headline Deception

The WordSmith from Nantucket at Sparks from the Anvil has a great write up about the media bias in reporting the U.S. Armed Forces desertion figures for the war in Iraq.

In particular, he writes about USA Today's headline for its story detailing desertion statistics for the "all-volunteer U.S. military."

The article was introduced with these words:

8,000 desert during Iraq war

That certainly sounds like more bad news for the military, punctuating how poorly the war is going. It implies failure in Iraq.

A quick glance at that headline, without digging into the article, leaves one with the impression that the 8,000 figure is newsworthy because it's so enormous.

If that's what one takes away from USA Today's headline, then one is left very misinformed.

The article is clear that the overall desertion rates have plunged since the 9/11 attacks.

It even includes a chart that illustrates the dramatic drop in desertions from the Army.



So, why not use a headline that actually gives the reader an indication of the content of the article?

Obviously, the writer of the headline wanted the reader to get the impression that the glass was half empty.

Such deception is a disservice to the reader. The journalistic standards of USA Today are embarrassingly inadequate, revealing the bias that permeates the publication.

Another proud moment for the mainstream media.