What sorts of fears and assumptions does this little headline tap into, eh?
Woman's body found in NYU prof's bedroom
Scary faculty, preying on America's youth, right? And then...
Police found the decomposing body of a 20-year-old woman inside the locked bedroom of a New York University faculty member after neighbors complained of the smell, authorities said.
From that, would you think, oh, this is the child of a faculty member, who died in her mother's bed - possibly of foul play - while her mother was out of town?
The woman, whose name was not immediately released, is believed to be the daughter of the faculty member, who is traveling in a foreign study program.
Clearly, there is nothing important happening in the world or in US politics, to the point that implying scandal at NYU makes the headlines.
Posted by binky at August 7, 2007 10:00 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Media | The Academy | You Can't Make This Stuff UpThe goal of the headline is to get you to read the story while not actively misrepresenting its contents. Obviously, this one worked pretty well, no? :-)
Posted by: jacflash at August 7, 2007 12:45 PM | PERMALINKwhile not actively misrepresenting its contents
There's the spot I was taking issue with, dear.
Posted by: binky at August 7, 2007 01:16 PM | PERMALINKBut there was a "woman's body found in NYU prof's bedroom", wasn't there? :-)
Posted by: jacflash at August 7, 2007 02:04 PM | PERMALINKi'm pretty sure any responsible headline would include the word "daughter." but then what's "responsible" about the MSM these days?
Posted by: moon at August 7, 2007 04:43 PM | PERMALINKNo responsible headline would include the word "daughter" unless it had been confirmed that the body was in fact the daughter's. From the snippet Binky quoted, it doesn't sound like that was the case.
Posted by: jacflash at August 8, 2007 07:39 AM | PERMALINKif it was irresponsible in a headline to use the word daughter, then it was irresponsible to use it in the story. and even if "is believed to be" doesn't rise to headline level surety, it's certainly reason enough not to offer a headline that so clearly points _away_ from the notion that it might be a family member legitimately in the room. anyway, i can't say for sure, since by the time i looked the story had gotten much tighter, and the daughter had been clearly identified as such.
Posted by: moon at August 8, 2007 10:57 AM | PERMALINK