Reporters don’t write the headlines. There, I’ve just committed a no-no in news circles by repeating the headline in my lede. But this column is all about no-nos, so please let it pass.
Headlines on news stories inThe Western Producer,as in most newspapers, are written by various editors who are engaged in copy editing and designing the pages.
On occasion, this leads to headlines that don’t accurately reflect the story’s content, because the editors aren’t as familiar with the details.
Read Also
Europe holds promise for Canadian lentils
Pulse Canada is trying to help boost lentil consumption in Europe, which is already the fourth largest market.
Sometimes the result is particularly egregious, as in the July 15 issue. A page 1 story proclaimed “Help for Sask. farmers irks Ontario.” However, the story, written by Ottawa reporter Barry Wilson, did not say that.
The story was based in part on Wilson’s interview with Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews. In it, she acknowledged an aid program for flood/rain plagued Saskatchewan and Alberta farmers and noted no similar response had yet been forthcoming for troubled farmers in Ontario.
Essentially, Crews noted an expectation of equal treatment, not irritation about aid for farmers elsewhere.
Crews was understandably angered by the incorrect headline. She wrote a letter to that effect, which we published in the July 29 issue. In it, she accused Wilson of “cheap tabloid journalism” because of the headline. “Is this an attempt to sell more papers or to try to divide the farm community, or both?” Crews asked in her letter.
The answer is neither. It was a mistake, pure and simple. Headlines should reflect the story and attract reader attention, not sensationalize. Accurately reflecting the farm community, not dividing it, is our goal.
Wilson was unfairly criticized for something he didn’t do, and blamed for an error made in our Saskatoon office. The buck stops here, so far as any errors are concerned, so this is an apology to Crews and to Wilson for the mistake.
You may wonder, if headline accuracy is such a problem, why don’t reporters write them in the first place? It’s because reporters don’t know how their stories will appear in the paper. Will they need a long headline or a short one? Two columns, three columns, four or five? Two lines, three lines or four? By the time reporters wrote six or eight headlines for every story, time would be wasted – time better spent gathering more news for our readers.
That means it’s up to headline writing staffers to do a good job and to learn from our mistakes.
