Editorializing with headlines

In the April 9 edition of the S-R, a long article on the proposal to remodel a section of North Monroe Street presented alternative views of how residents, but mainly business owners, view the concept. Turn to page 14 for the balance of the article and you are greeted with the headline, “Some say project could hurt business.” Some say the earth is flat or the moon landing was faked, too.

You could have just as easily said, “Some say the project may transform this section of Monroe Street into the next Hawthorne District (Portland) or Fremont District (Seattle)”. But your headline writing confers an obvious editorial slant to the article.

Then, on April 12, a headline slants an article about the airline passenger removal by alluding to the passenger’s criminal record, which seems to suggest that United Airlines would have known about this in advance and used it to rationalize his removal from the aircraft.

Your Easter coverage could be headlined “crucified man has past run-ins with the law,” but neither case justifies the treatment both men faced.

Your headline writing should reflect the news, not opinion.

Roger Haick

Loon Lake