Sometimes the headlines are what they wished the attached article really said (From Watford Observer)

Sometimes the headlines are what they wished the attached article really said

1:30pm Thursday 22nd December 2011

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

IT IS said that it is not just the reporters, but the sub-editors who are to blame for some of the excesses in national newspapers. They are the individuals who receive the reports and whose job on some newspapers is to try and come up with a corny pun, playing on words, rather than giving you the facts in a headline.

I have heard national newspapermen claim regularly that the sub-editors actually “juice up” stories written accurately and in good faith – that the subs’ desk cranked their story up a notch. Certainly you can see this in some of the so-called sports outbursts such as: “Fergie thunders out a warning.”

You read the introduction and note that the Manchester United manager, or any top manager, has “thundered” out a warning to certain rivals. You then read the quotes in which he states that after Christmas the title race “hots up” and those familiar with pressure, such as his squad, are more likely to be able to deal with it.

Often I have seen the televised news conference in which Ferguson has been asked about the prospects of this and that and makes a reasoned observation about the pressure cranking up. “Still my players are used to that and that may provide them with the edge,” he reflects.

Hardly “thundering” and not really a warning but simple quotes given in a measured response to a reasonable question, eventually become transformed into “rage”, “thunders” ,”blast, “warning” etc, the headlines written by someone who has not been within miles of Old Trafford, Anfield or wherever, but is trying to fulfil his remit to make the sports pages exciting.

A player, asked if his side can win the title, has little option but to reply in the affirmative. If he says “no” then his manager will want to know why he has thrown in the towel. If he says “maybe” he is told he should have been more positive.

But the next morning he sees his picture in headlines, throwing down the gauntlet: “Catch us if you can,” challenges Player X. “It’s our title” Player X jibes rivals.

The story then goes on to back the headline in words until you read the simple quote: Asked if his team can still win the title all he said was “yes”. Then you realise an inch has been taken and a mile run.

Last week after Manchester City’s defeat they prepared to meet Arsenal. City’s James Milner was interviewed and said they had to make sure they got back to winning ways against The Gunners. At no stage in the article did he say “watch out Arsenal you will suffer from the backlash”. He just stressed City’s need to retain their belief.

The headline was “You’re Gunna pay”, which he did not say nor did he actually infer. The headline was inaccurate, mildly misleading and claiming someone said something they did not. Some might feel I am being pedantic, but it is this stretching of the truth, every day in national newspapers, which is a culture that breeds distortion.

As for my own career, well as I said last week, I would never have cut it. I would have been brushed aside washed underneath a tidal wave of conjecture while I attempted to stick to the facts. For all that, I never had the confidence to make the leap but as the years rolled on, it was purely their pay packets I envied occasionally.

Of course doctoring quotes or simply knocking out “designer quotes” could have been my forte for I never could get to grips with shorthand. That could have led to improvisation, I suppose, but I found I have near enough total recall and, by writing key words, I found I could write loads of quotes without any problem.

I must have been accused of misquoting someone. You cannot work for 45 years and not make a mistake, but an instance does not come readily to mind. Certainly I did not doctor quotes for impact, so any error was unintended.

Just these few examples cited here and in last two weeks of blogs, suggest that other individuals would have already been down the line a few steps and would embrace the potential of phone hacking with enthusiasm.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here