Interesting Slant in News Headlines

Here’s a “glass is half full” headline that makes me proud to work at Seton HIll:

Seton Hill U Students Step In, Help Officer Being Attacked By Man

Here’s a “glass is half empty” headline that makes me go “oops”:

Seton Hill student turns Taser on Greensburg police officer

Here’s a more neutral headline that went out on the state news wire:

Westmoreland Co. university student turns Taser on police officer

Here’s what seems to be a mistake:

Victim.png


According to the news accounts I’ve read, Spisak was the one who assaulted the officer, so I don’t know why this image has the label “victim.”

3 thoughts on “Interesting Slant in News Headlines

  1. Do you know whether Stormy or Val could use help responding to this issue? I know you’re probably preparing for the undergraduate humanities conference, but even if you just shared your thoughts or observations, it might help. Just a thought.

  2. The semantics are often less frightening than the absence of the utterance. This happens very often, especially in an economic recession. I still can’t believe people don’t talk about death anymore – like it’s taboo. The principals at my high school suspended people for saying even the word “death.”
    The most I heard about this this morning was “wow, that’s crazy” and silence. The Clash said it well “as the Daily Crown disperses, no one says that much.” We don’t talk. We don’t try to heal. And, very frighteningly, we don’t try to find the reasons why.
    I think you raise a very key issue about a news agency affixing a university with a crime. There is no way of knowing his motive (if any) at this point and it could be a number of things that caused this young man to snap.

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