Saturday, December 31, 2005

Inept hed(s) of the morning

Who spilled about Bush's secret spying?
Inquiry looks for leak; legal experts say use special council

1) This is a grownup story. Could we have a grownup hed, pls? Maybe one that reflects the significant news development that prompted the story?
2) Nothing in the text supports the deck's assertion about what "legal experts" say. The only person offering that view is the ACLU chief, who is presented as an executive, not a lawyer, and whose role in the story is partisan critic, not independent observer. I happen to think he's right, but I also think the paper would have a hard time defending itself should someone accuse it of deliberately distorting the data at hand to reflect its ideology.
3) C-O-U-N-S-E-L, dammit.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

In first edition, it was "special prosecutor." Sigh.

Here's the PDF. (Link good for seven days)

8:17 PM, December 31, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bad head all around ... in addition to aforementioned:

1) It's a question hed. Duh.

2) It implies someone actually DID leak information. In some circles, this would be referred to as a "whistleblowing," and the administration calling it a leak doesn't make it so.

10:05 PM, December 31, 2005  
Blogger fev said...

Amy, canst retry the link to the PDF? tnx, fev

10:33 AM, January 02, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

*smacks head*

6:40 PM, January 04, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know this is a copy editing site, but I have to say...

No! You did not use photoshop confetti on your front!

3:32 AM, January 05, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks better in first edition, when it was downpage and about 1.5 columns wide.

Hate to point fingers, but apparently the suggestion came from higher up ... higher than anyone on the design team. From someone who has no experience in design but authority over, well, everything in the newsroom.

2:13 PM, January 05, 2006  

Post a Comment

<< Home