Lots of today’s inauguration front pages are online at www.newseum.org. Apparently in many newsrooms, "no cheering in the press box" was suspended for a day. To read some of the headlines, a visitor to this planet would think America had been wiped out by volcanoes and was starting over. These were some of the most over-the-top headlines I saw:
America 2.0 – RedEye (Chicago)
From the mountaintop – Baltimore Examiner
We begin again – Cape Cod Times and several others
At last – Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press
A glorious beginning – New York Daily News
We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America (no quotes) – The Repository (Canton, Ohio)
Let’s GOBama – Bild, Germany
Let the remaking of America begin today (no quotes) – The Guardian, London
Renewal – Brownsville (Texas) Herald
Hope over fear – Many. Some put it in quotes, some didn’t
A new era – many. Some with quotes, some without.
And from a few who managed to play it straight and not faint with excitement:
Obama takes oath, and nation in crisis embraces the moment – New York Times
Obama pledges to remake America – USA Today
Obama takes charge – Washington Post
Many went with President Barack Obama or just Mr. President
To be sure, Tuesday was a huge day in American history and worthy of celebration. But I think you saw a lot of headline writers get caught up in the hooplah and momentarily forget what we’re here for. Even just adding quote marks to some of the headlines would have made a big difference, journalistically.
And don’t even get me started on the TV news coverage.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
And Salon, which has been openly scornful of Pres. Bush, let it all hang out with this one: "Not Bush's White House anymore." The New York Times has made little effort to hide its distaste for George W. Bush, but the editors usually have had the good taste to hide their daggers under silk. Salon doesn't feel such compunction, and usually shows it.
Post a Comment