Misleading Media

A few weeks ago, I had quite the tantrum on here regarding the irresponsibility of the media when it came to a Black Crowes album review in Maxim magazine that was written without the reviewer even listening to the album.

Another media trend that drives me absolutely crazy is misleading headlines. There are few things worse than clicking an intriguing link to find an article beneath that had very little to do with the published headline. The reason for the tactic is obvious... more clicks = more money... and that's just on the Internet. This practice is in no way limited to the Internet as you can pick up your local newspaper or turn on your television to see it repeated there as well.

What sparked my outrage today?

Yahoo had a headline that read "Ledger's Will Leaves Nothing To Daughter, Ex-Girlfriend"

A terrible headline, right? The average reader who doesn't click the link believes that the late actor was a heartless monster who had no desire to leave any of his fortune to his young daughter nor her mother. "What a sick excuse for a human being he is," you think. "He probably had nothing left to give her after spending all his money on drugs," you ponder. "I bet he left it all to some whore," you speculate.

You click the link, curious to see how this dreg of society betrayed his child... even from beyond the grave. Full of rage, you start to read...

"Heath Ledger's will leaves nothing to his former girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter because it was never updated after they became part of his life."

...

Oh.

So, wait. He didn't intentionally leave them out of his will? He just... never added them after they entered his world?

Indeed.

And while that certainly makes him short-sighted, it doesn't make him the evil, evil creature that Yahoo wanted to imply he was.

They wanted you to think he was a despicable human being... because it was in their best interest for you think so. Because if you thought he was a bad person, you'd probably click the link to see what possible excuse he could have.

It's the same practice as your local news that promises to tell about a "major disease outbreak in local fast food locales" throughout their entire show only to drop in a 10 second piece at the end of the show letting you know that an employee at a Taco Bell had the runs last week.

It's the same practice that has inflammatory headlines in huge font above the fold and then tiny print below that explains why the situation's not as bad as they wanted you to think.

It's the same practice that the media has used for years to great success... because no one ever calls them out on just how despicable it is.