From CNN American Morning:
Pirates are holding a U.S. captain hostage at sea. The Navy is watching everything that happens. So what is supposed to happen next? We talked to someone who knows a thing or two about the pirates and has experience covering them in Somalia. Kaj Larsen, former U.S. Navy SEAL, spoke to T.J. Holmes on CNN’s American Morning Thursday.
And indeed, that is what the article is about. It discusses in some detail the ransom money the pirates have taken, why Somali piracy has become a real problem and what possible solutions there might be to this problem.
So what IS the headline, again..?
Well, that topic does take up 20 out of the approximately 600 words that the article is constructed out of. It is mentioned that once, about halfway through, even if it’s never alluded to again in the entire rest of the article.
Basic expository writing skills, people…you’re supposed to be a professional writer, right..? Come on, now…
Thats the problem with writers writing the articles, and editors writing the headlines. At least thats how it’s usually done, and editors tend to lean heavily on the sensational.