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How not to write a headline 12

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...And the first line of the article was certainly worded poorly, as well:
News Article said:
An American tourist was killed by a train as he walked on the tracks in a daze after he drank a cappuccino laced with drugs and then was robbed, railway police said Monday.
Click to expand...
The report should have presented the events in chronological order.


Another reporting gaffe is the quote from the investigating officer:
Piccolantonio said:
This man approached these two tourists and earned their trust, and then offered them two cappuccinos with drugs,
Click to expand...
Perhaps the tourists should have simply said, "Thanks for the cappuccinos, but please hold the drugs." [banghead]

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
 
Santa,

I'd like to know whether this article was originally written in English or in Italian. I'll bet it was translated by someone with a less than fluent command of English.



Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 
I'll bet it was translated by someone with a less than fluent command of English.
Click to expand...
Judging from what I've seen of some headlines in national and syndicated news reports, I'll take that bet! ;-)


James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
[sup]I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229![/sup]
 
Non parlo l'italiano...

...but I cannot imagine that Italian sentence construction is so convoluted that it excuses the type of misunderstanding that appeared in that article.

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
 

Phel's wife went to Hungary, where her husband was born, after being released from a hospital.
Click to expand...

Wasn't his wife alarmed, if delighted, at his rebirth following his release from hospital (presumably the morgue)?

[lol]

Chris

So you ride yourselves over the fields,
and you make all your animal deals,
and your wise men don't know how it feels...

Ian Anderson
 
Don't be silly. Her husband was born following her release from the hospital. [smile]

Greg
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. Kierkegaard
 
OK.

So, perhaps my grammar aint all that bad.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
Hi,
There is an old story about a fierce headline editor who insisted on his writers being as brief and to the point as possible...

When doing the headline for a story about an escaped mental patient who assaulted a woman he wrote:

headline1 said:
mental Patient escapes from hospital, attacks local woman
Click to expand...

The editor was furious..Much too long!

The next try was shorter:
headline2 said:
Patient escapes attacks woman
Click to expand...

Still too long, said the editor, try one more time( (Highlight to read)

headline3 said:

Nut Bolts and Screws
Click to expand...



[profile]

To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."
 
If you are looking for incompetent editors, then here are headlines from a few that should lose their jobs:
1. Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
2. Joint Committee Investigates Marijuana Use
3. Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
4. Enraged Cow Injures Farmer With Ax
5. Tiger Woods plays with own balls, Nike says
6. Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
7. Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years
8. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
9. Two Sisters Reunited After 18 Years at Checkout Counter
10. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
11. Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
12. Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
13. Kicking Baby Considered to Be Healthy
14. Never Withhold Herpes Infection from Loved One
15. Stolen Painting Found by Tree
16. Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
17. Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
18. If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
19. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
20. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Click to expand...

[santa]Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
 
Also:
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Dalmatians Get Spots in Ads
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Click to expand...


Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 
Okay, if for no other reason, I had to pass along the stars to the last 2 posts b/c of the big laugh I've now had this morning.

It was all I could do to maintain my composure, and not bust out laughing over Santa's list, especially!

[ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2]
[ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2][ROFL2]

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
Some more that I just remembered:

Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Study Says School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
Milk Drinkers are Turning to Powder
College Students Turning to Vegetables
Man is Fatally Slain
Police Discover Crack in Australia
Doctor Testifies in Horse Suit
Click to expand...


Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo.

 
Oooo those are great.
Here is a list of newspaper titles I saw before and copied to a guild forum that I still frequent. I had to remove a few as they already appeared above.

Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
Bush Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work After Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
War Dims Hope for Peace
Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Actually, had to cut out half the list as they were already above. =D

~
Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.
 
I think this had its own thread, but I can't find it....

From the that bastion of journalistic integrity, the New York Post,
IKE 'BEATS' TINA TO DEATH

This isn't quite the same as many of the above examples because in this case the paper intentionally printed a provocative headline. This was not a case of unskilled editing as much as tasteless editing.

For those who might not know, Ike Turner used to (allegedly?) beat his wife, Tina Turner, before she left him.

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

Help us help you. Please read FAQ 181-2886 before posting.
 
You missed it in Wisconsin before Tommy Thompson was in Washington. Our former governor was wielding his line-item veto power on the budget: "Thompson's Pen Is A Sword". <ahem>

"Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself."
 
OUCH!

"Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself."
 
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