Here’s the front page of today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
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In a surprise move, Danton pleads guilty.
That headline is twice as long as it needs to be; as a matter of fact, the headline contains a fact and a response to the fact, that the writer of the headline is surprised.
This, my friends, is a cry for help. Whoever felt the need to include his or her reaction into the headline of a marginally-relevant story wants us to look at him or her, the surprised innocent or the surprised cynic who would assume that Danton would plead not guilty and appeal as far as he could before trying an insanity defense. But no, Danton plead guilty. And that’s the story, not the author or editor’s reaction.
Unfortunately, all journalism nowadays seems to require the professional journalists insert their own voices into the facts.
