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inside wral: taking heat for a headline
Published Sep. 16, 2009Views: 2449
Welcome to Inside WRAL, a blog that focuses on the interesting, strange, funny or just off-the-wall things that happen behind the scenes here at the station.
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As a WRAL.com web editor, I know firsthand that writing about death is never an easy job. We found ourselves in a strange situation yesterday with regards to writing an appropriate headline.
We found out that Mount Olive police had found two people dead at a cemetery – a 29-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl. Police did not know the cause of death at that time.
We took some heat for our headline: "Two found dead in Wayne County cemetery." One reader criticized us for writing a "sorry headline." Another said they felt for the family, but "the way the headline read made me chuckle."
Police later gave us more information about the deaths, so we were able to change our headline so it made more sense.
But, we’d like to know ... how would you have handled the situation? If you knew that two people were found dead in a cemetery, how would you have written the headline?
- Kelly H. (WRAL.com web editor)
Filed under: People
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Then inside the article elaborate that it happened to be in a cemetary
GOLO member since July 2, 2007
September 16, 2009 7:40 a.m.
Perhaps leaving out the word cemetery in the headline but adding it to the story.
Either way, Kelly, you know the saying, 'can't please all the people, all the time'. :)
GOLO member since January 3, 2008
September 16, 2009 7:41 a.m.
GOLO member since July 26, 2007
September 16, 2009 7:41 a.m.
GOLO member since January 27, 2009
September 16, 2009 7:44 a.m.
GOLO member since November 3, 2007
September 16, 2009 7:45 a.m.
Or, you could have just left "cemetery" out of the headline and let people read it in the lead. You could have just written TWO DEAD FOUND IN [EAST/WEST/NORTH/SOUTH] WAYNE COUNTY but then, that would not have been as much fun. Right? I worked briefly as a reporter so I know what it's like when you get something too good to pass up.
GOLO member since October 15, 2008
September 16, 2009 7:46 a.m.
Wow.
GOLO member since January 3, 2008
September 16, 2009 7:50 a.m.
I understood the headline.
GOLO member since June 24, 2009
September 16, 2009 7:50 a.m.
GOLO member since October 26, 2007
September 16, 2009 7:51 a.m.
GOLO member since July 4, 2007
September 16, 2009 7:54 a.m.
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