The best headlines ever!

Actually, that headline is a bit misleading. This is actually a post about a couple of misleading headlines (audience: Oh, I get it. I just love witty meta-humor.)



Just a quick recap: A headline is misleading if it states or implies something that is refuted or not stated in the article. Now, let's get to it.



The first example is from Chris Morris' usually excellent Game Over column. His latest column is headlined "No More Mario?" a question that clearly implies further questions such as: Huh? Why would Nintendo decide to abandon its mascot of over 20 years? Has Nintendo finally given in and made Pikachu its mascot?



Hold tight, Pokemon fans, because those who read the article will find that Nintendo senior vice president George Harrison simply said that there may not be another Mario game for the GameCube. Note that he didn't even say this was definite. Morris paraphrases Harrison: "While a new Mario game for the GameCube is still a possibility, it's definitely not certain." So the answer to the headline's question of "No More Mario?" turns out to be, "Maybe not on the GameCube," instead of the bombshell many no doubt expected based on the headline: "Yes, Nintendo is done with Mario."



To be fair, the sub-headline does clarify by saying that, "Nintendo's plumber may be through with the GameCube," but even on the column's index page, most people will probably miss this smaller text and simply click on the the large bold lettering asking if Mario is no more.



My second example headline isn't quite as strong, but contains an incorrect implication nonetheless. The GameSpot story, headlined "Game gimmick in Japan takes sales skyward" implies that some new technology or delivery method is doing well, possibly better than expected. Reading the full article, however, reveals that the gimmick of selling a flight simulator game to passengers on Japanese flights does not start until Nov. 11, six days after the article was published. Unless they're talking about pre-sales (which the article does not even hint at), it's hard to believe that sales of this unreleased product are going "skyward."



Now I appreciate a good pun as much as anybody else (possibly more) and I realize the author of this headline was probably only trying to highlight the airborne nature of this new delivery gimmick with the "skyward" reference. But as it currently stands, the headline has a dual implication that misrepresents what the story actually says. A new healine such as "News sales gimmick set to take off" or, "New sales gimmick prepares for liftoff," keeps the pun while more accurately representing the story.



Since the headline and the article are often written by two different people, it's not surprising that they occasionally do not match up. But this doesn't mean you don't have to be careful of the message you send to your readers through the headline. The headline is a reader's first and sometimes only impression of an article, and if those few words aren't completely accurate, it can totally alter the reader's understanding of the subject. Don't count on the sub-headline or a story blurb to clarify for you; make sure someone who only reads the headline would have an accurate perception of the article's content.



I know some of you are waiting for my promised post about accepting gifts, and I promise it will be up by the week's end. It takes awhile to develop an entire ethical framework, and I want to make sure I do it justice. Until then, dear readers.