Monday, August 15, 2011

Careful With Those Headlines

Remember last week's show when we commented on the #obamabusname hash tag on Twitter?  Well, I saw this headline on Fox News when I opened up my browser this morning:

Obama Embarks on Job Saving Tour
 
The cynic in me says, ”Putz! How’s a bus tour supposed to save jobs?”  It reminded me of Hard Rock CafĂ©’s motto “Save the Planet.”  How?   By standing in long lines to buy overpriced hamburgers?  Then I thought, "Wait a minute. What’s the president calling it?  Maybe Fox News is using a misleading headline. Gee, that’s never happened before."  Whitehouse.gov has the headline:

President Obama Kicks Off the Economic Bus Tour in Cannon Falls, Minnesota

OK, so maybe it is some lame claim to a job saving tour.  Then I realized, it was HIS job the president was trying to save!  And then I realized,  that was what Fox News was trying to get me to conclude all along.   They just wanted me to think I was oh so clever for figuring it out "all by myself."

Take Home Lesson: Be very careful with headlines on stories. They are used to manipulate opinion. Especially if you just read the headline, and not the story!!

And yeah, I know.  Serves me right for having Fox News for a home page!