Poor Journalism

Why do journalists feel the need to sensationalize SO MUCH? Take the following example of a headline (taken from Reuters/Yahoo news at the following site: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070404/us_nm/usa_flag_burning_dc)

Three Yale students arrested for burning U.S. flag

This headline clearly implies that some students from a liberal university were arrested for protesting something by burning the flag at some rally. After clicking on the link to the story the viewer sees a Reuters’ file photo image of a U.S. flag being burned at a protest, another misleading depiction. After reading the story it turns out it was just a case of arson and has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue of flag burning.

The issue of flag burning is a divisive one in our nation. On one side of the argument there are those who believe the flag is a symbol of our country and that it must not be desecrated in such a way. On the other there are those who believe the very foundation of our freedom rests on the right to free speech and argue that this act falls under those protections. Regardless of which side of the debate one falls, the obvious intent of this headline was to play on those emotions to get the surfer to click on the link and read the story… and I fell for it.

Turns out this story was nothing more than one of three hooligans setting fire to someone else’s piece of property that was hanging from that someone else’s house, thereby endangering the house and those occupants inside. The three hooligans were caught by police and arrested on various charges, including arson. In interviewing the three suspects, the police discovered they were not protesting anything, as the headline implied, and they even acknowledged that it was a “dumb thing to do”. This story’s headline should have read “Three Yale students arrested for arson” and been kept on page seven of the local paper.