Forgetting the basics

Today's sermon topic: That's why we call 'em "the basics." It doesn't matter how often you update the homepage. It doesn't matter what the New York Times does with its morning 1A meeting. It doesn't matter that Newsday thinks the world has been "digitally remastered." All these worldly things are but dust in the wind if the Desk of the Future can't remember the Fundamentals of the Past.

As in? Well, as in not declaring crime suspects guilty upon arrest, as at upper right. Sheez. By this point in the semester, that sort of blunder gets your hed assignment in J4400 knocked down to an F. What's it doing on the opening page of a great big daily paper?

Of course, the purpose might be to take readers' minds off the inexcusable hed topping the 1A rail in the print edn. Every day, somebody gives new life to the bizarre belief lamented in John McIntyre's latest eloquent rant: "It's not a cliche when I use it."