2008 Woodie Awards
Obscene Headlines get All the Attention
Carolyn Cleveland: Muleskinner
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Opinion
I have come to the disturbing revelation that when looking at online news sites, I gloss right over the sections on politics and business. It seems that my eyes, and attention, are instantly drawn to the random weird "news."
The wackier the headline, the better. And the funny thing is, I don't think I'm alone in this. I'm sure if Yahoo News conducted a poll to see whether "Airports offer busy travelers flu shots" or "Italian court orders Donald Duck to take the witness stand" got more hits, then the duck would have an easy victory.
So why aren't we more conscientious citizens of the world, reading "Global warming reeks havoc on nature" while eating our morning corn flakes? Simply because it's too discouraging.
In my opinion, I'd much rather read about how a 42-foot inflatable snowman was stolen than how President Bush wants to send more troops over to Iraq. The media are a 24/7 constant flood of negativity, with only the occasional feature to inspire warm and fuzzy feelings.
As an aspiring journalist, I understand the importance of the serious news articles. It's the job of the media to be informative and to keep us abreast of world happenings.
I just think that maybe people would watch and read more news if more of the light-hearted was thrown into the mix. It's only natural to want to take a short break from the "bad news" and get the "good news" first.
For good measure, I'll leave you with a few eye-catching headlines from recent news stories:
"Man allegedly leaves baby to rob store"
"Holy Smoke! Police find cannabis in nunnery"
"Cop sues over firing, blames meatballs"
The wackier the headline, the better. And the funny thing is, I don't think I'm alone in this. I'm sure if Yahoo News conducted a poll to see whether "Airports offer busy travelers flu shots" or "Italian court orders Donald Duck to take the witness stand" got more hits, then the duck would have an easy victory.
So why aren't we more conscientious citizens of the world, reading "Global warming reeks havoc on nature" while eating our morning corn flakes? Simply because it's too discouraging.
In my opinion, I'd much rather read about how a 42-foot inflatable snowman was stolen than how President Bush wants to send more troops over to Iraq. The media are a 24/7 constant flood of negativity, with only the occasional feature to inspire warm and fuzzy feelings.
As an aspiring journalist, I understand the importance of the serious news articles. It's the job of the media to be informative and to keep us abreast of world happenings.
I just think that maybe people would watch and read more news if more of the light-hearted was thrown into the mix. It's only natural to want to take a short break from the "bad news" and get the "good news" first.
For good measure, I'll leave you with a few eye-catching headlines from recent news stories:
"Man allegedly leaves baby to rob store"
"Holy Smoke! Police find cannabis in nunnery"
"Cop sues over firing, blames meatballs"
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