A colleague has just forwarded me an AFP story headlined - "Nepal bombing bad news for peace process: analysts". I applaud the urge to maintain a rigid division between fact and commentary. But sometimes I think journalists should be allowed to state the blindingly obvious - without resorting to "analysts".

The headline reminds me of a conversation I once witnessed at the BBC World Service. A worried editor was fretting that the presenter of a current-affairs programme had described some people who had let off a bomb as "militants". The presenter - Hugh Prysor Jones - replied, reasonably enough - "Well, they are unlikely to be moderates."

On the other hand, one should always be aware of the possibility of misunderstandings and ambiguity in newspaper stories. Reading the Washington Post this morning, I came across the headline - "Showdown Nears on Stimulus Bill". My initial assumption was that this was an article about Bill Clinton’s controversial campaign tactics. In fact, it turned out to be a piece about efforts to pass a fiscal package to get the American economy going. But I prefer my initial interpretation. I think "Stimulus Bill" is an excellent name for the former president.

January 31st, 2008 in Media | Permalink