viewpoint Caroline Thain says the dash to drag readers in has gone too far


Let’s say goodbye to insensitive headlines


O


ne of the biggest changes in journalism in the past two decades is in how headlines are written. With just a few


words, we can do so much. But what damage do headlines do when they define individuals by categories, for the purpose of drama, brevity and ‘characterisation’? Dementia Dad. Suicide Teen. Bipolar Mum. Ebola Baby. I recently wrote a story about twin girls. An editor said to ‘make sure I call them “Down’s syndrome sisters” in the headline’. I hesitated, thinking this harsh and inappropriate. The girls are far more than Down’s syndrome. The article had been sparked by their parents, who run an awareness charity, so it seemed especially important to get the tone right. I changed the headline as directed and have felt uneasy about it ever since. Many editorial staff are able to disregard upsetting effects while turning anything into a tantalising tale. It is a hallmark of a creative brain – a blessing but also a curse.


Does this mindset breed a thoughtless culture of labelling, amid arguably necessary hyperbole, to pull in the punters in a saturated online market? The main goal now is to cultivate clickbait – headlines to drag readers in at all costs, while accuracy is compromised. Headlines used to be sacred. You never got typos in them. Now, every day I see online headlines with errors. Are journalists too busy cracking on with churnalism with no time to worry about typos or who they offend? Because of the fast pace of work, journalists rely more now than ever on charities and health and social care stories for hard news articles and real- life emotive features. We cannot afford to alienate folk. We need them.


“ 8 For all the latest news from the NUJ go to www.nuj.org.uk ” theJournalist | 9


I cannot believe all journalists have no heart and have never read about disability, diversity and difference, don’t understand tolerance or race issues or how fear, ignorance and hatred are spread. I refuse to believe no subeditor has known a child with cancer or a man with Aids, or had a mother with depression, a father with dementia or a brother who died as a result of suicide. There’s not much that could make me feel worse than, if one of my children was battling cancer, I agreed to an article then saw him referred to as “cancer boy”. People might not equate journalism with liberalism. But how much of what is written – rewrites bashed out with images grabbed from social media – is journalism anyway? We are clattering out the same old stereotypes in a sector whose terminology hasn’t come into the 21st century. Yet, as media professionals, we are in a prominent, privileged position of being able to help make positive change. We are too busy with negativity to see it. Globalisation and


I cannot believe journalists do not understand tolerance or race issues or how fear, ignorance and hatred are spread


technological advancements have changed newsgathering and news writing so far from what it was that true journalism is barely recognisable to those lucky enough to remember it.


Recently, I have been struck by how headlines defy traditional journalism teaching, basic laws of writing and often common sense. Examples include capitalising every word (“the American way”), telling readers what they think before they think it (“Some bloke did this thing – and it was totally amazing”) and including as many keywords as possible for search engine optimisation (“Best


bonfire displays of fireworks on Guy Fawkes’ night 2016”).


Reporters are bypassing subeditors when writing headlines online, self- publishing in seconds, cramming in SEO- friendly terms, trebling the traditional headline length and sacrificing the succinct for the searchable. Clever headlines and creative puns have been almost eradicated, as clicks, likes and shares become more important than our sense of humanity. We are the only industry that refers to a tot with a terminal disease as “cancer boy”. It’s time for that change, I reckon.


Caroline Thain is a freelance journalist working for several national papers


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28