Let’s play a game called “Which Headline Is More Biased and Inflammatory?”
Republicans Rally Behind Trump, Who Reprises Favored Role: Victim
Republicans Loyal to Trump Express Outrage Over the FBI’s Search of His Home
If you answered headline 1, you are correct. Here’s why:
Headline 1 insinuates that all Republicans have rallied behind Trump, which is a large generalization; it is also factually incorrect. (Liz Cheney, for example, is not rallying behind Trump.)
Headline 2 specifies Republicans “loyal to Trump” as the ones expressing outrage. That makes sense, because they support the former President.
Headline 1 seeks to fan the flames of anger in those already enraged by the Trump presidency and post-presidency; the headline suggests that while readers may not learn anything new, they will grow in their disdain for Trump.
Headline 2 seeks to inform; no matter on which side readers find themselves, they’re likely to learn something from the accompanying article.
Both headlines are from the mainstream media. The first is from the New York Times, and the second is from NPR. Each has taken a different approach to enticing readers. The Times makes a direct hit on the Republican Party in general and Trump in particular. NPR, by comparison, prefers to look at the effects of the recent raid at Mar-a-Lago on Trump loyalists.
Here’s another set of examples. Which headline is more biased and inflammatory?
Texas School District Pulls Anne Frank’s Diary, Bible From Shelves After Complaints
A Texas School District Is Removing and Reviewing Dozens of Challenged Books, Including the Bible and an Anne Frank Adaptation
Notice the subtle differences between the first headline, from the New York Post, and the second, from CNN, and how those differences make headline 1 more biased and inflammatory.
Headline 2 includes the words “reviewing” and “challenged.” It’s key to note that these and several other books were questioned by various groups, and that’s why the school district has decided to take all of them off the shelves and review them. That suggests a temporary removal, at least for some of the books.
Headline 2 also makes an important distinction about the The Diary of Anne Frank. The one in question is a graphic adaptation, not the original. For whatever reasons this version raises concerns, it does not imply that Anne Frank’s original diary is being removed from school libraries.
In Conclusion
A good headline shouldn’t tell you how to feel; instead, it should compel you to read the accompanying article and interpret the information yourself. Factual wording is essential to helping readers assess a situation. Vague language and the omission of key words in a headline are unreliable journalistic practices.
These days, when a lot of newspapers and magazines have thinned out or eliminated their copy desks - the critical minds who questioned and fact-checked headlines and articles before they made it to publication - it’s incumbent upon readers to do their own critical reviews.
Here’s what you can do:
Look for headlines that engage rather than enrage.
Read articles from various sources on the same subject to determine the real story.
Draw your own intelligent conclusions.