Headlines on Deadline: Going with What You've Got
By Bill Mitchell (more by author)
Editor of Poynter Online
Contributors:
Candace Clarke
When newsrooms around the country got word from West Virginia that the trapped miners were believed to be alive late Tuesday and early Wednesday, editors were faced with a big decision with little time to make it.
Before learning that all but one of the miners were actually dead, many papers opted for headlines that were big and bold.
"THEY'RE ALIVE," proclaimed the St. Petersburg Times, which is owned by Poynter. Newsday filled most of its tabloid front with: "Miracle in the Mine." Andy Barnes, who chairs Poynter's board of trustees and previously served for 15 years as editor of the St. Petersburg Times and CEO of Times Publishing, says those are the kind of headlines newspapers need –- especially in times of declining circulation.
He describes the pressure for definitive headlines in this brief discussion.
You can read the transcript below.
Bill Mitchell: I'm Bill Mitchell, editor of Poynter Online, I'm speaking with Andy Barnes, the retired editor and chairman of the St. Petersburg Times and now the chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Poynter Institute.
Andy, in our discussion about the coverage of the miners' story, you made the point that the pressure to write definitive headlines is ever-more present in times of declining circulation. Andy, talk about this pressure if you would a little bit.
Andy Barnes: Obviously, the way you measure whether you are being successful simplistically is whether you are selling newspapers. And we are in a period, when, with a very small number of exceptions, we are selling fewer newspapers. If you have news, and you can write it in a way that's temporizing, or in a way that's clearly compelling you should -- I've always done as an editor, and instructed when I was supervising editor -- you write the strongest headline you can.
The phrase I've always used is 'If we're going to be hung, let's be hung for sheep, not lambs.' I mean, you might as well state the full text of what you've got and if you've got it wrong, you correct it the next day. And try and carry it on, and try to be as honest and open with your readers as you can that this is not history –- that we're doing our best to get it as right as we can when we have to go to press. But you don't make it any better by having a whole lot of mealy-mouth equivocation. Sell the newspaper.
Mitchell: Do the events of the last several hours give you second thoughts about that point of view?
Barnes: I've been wronger than this. It seems to me, you go with the best you got and might as well let everybody know you got it. I don't like overstating headlines, but strong headlines are one of our life-bloods.
Mitchell: Is there some way in a deck head or some other way to convey in the presentation of a story where what's known is obviously limited by time and resources?
Barnes: Of course, and if you're running The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, that's exactly what you're going to be doing. If you're running a local newspaper that sells newspapers out of racks -- and a lot of us have been -- it seems to me you don't read your lead headline, you're supposed to be able to get it immediately, and that means it's got to be cogent. And you can have all the decks there and that will make you all feel better at the conversations the next morning, but really what you get is the strongest headlines so somebody is going to put the 35 cents in the box.
Mitchell: So what do you do when you get it wrong?
Barnes: You correct it.
Mitchell: How? Do you explain the process?
Barnes: Well, you have an explainer story the ensuing day, saying, 'Here's what happened,' and if it's appropriate you say, 'We're sorry, people may have gotten a wrong understanding.' You be as open and candid about what you're doing as you can, but that doesn't mean it's better to be sort of boring in the process.
Here's a selection of some headlines that appeared on front pages Jan. 4:
Capturing the religious angle:
From The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala): Miracles happen in West Virginia
From The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.): Miner miracle: 'They're alive!'
From the Boston Herald (Boston, Mass.): Miner miracle!
From the Daily News (New York, N.Y.): Miracle in W. Va.: Alive!
Accurate headlines:
From The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W. Va.): 12 miners dead. *Run with correction: 12 miners dead, 1 survives Sago accident. Previous reports erroneous.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.): 12 miners dead
From The Herald-Dispatch (Huntington, W. Va.): 1 miner believed alive
From The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, W. Va.): Only 1 survives
Qualified:
From The Birmingham News (Birmingham, Ala.): Relatives: 12 miners found alive
From The Boston Globe (Boston, Mass.): 12 miners reportedly found alive
Inaccurate:
From the Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Ala.): Twelve miners found alive
From The New York Times (New York, N.Y): 12 miners found alive 41 hours after explosion
From the St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.): 'They're alive'
From the Tribune-Democrat (Johnston, Pa.): 12 miners found alive