Grossly Misleading
Here's a headline for you: Spy Agency Watching Americans From Space. Sounds threatening, sinister, scary - they're spying on us!
Unless you actually read the article, which reveals that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has been helping out with damage assessments from hurricanes and forest fires and helping with security arrangements for Superbowls and political conventions.
On Clapper's watch of the last five years, his agency has found ways to expand its mission to help prepare security at Super Bowls and political conventions or deal with natural disasters, such as hurricanes and forest fires.
With help, the agency can also zoom in. Its officials cooperate with private groups, such as hotel security, to get access to footage of a lobby or ballroom. That video can then be linked with mapping and graphical data to help secure events or take action, if a hostage situation or other catastrophe happens.
How about "Intelligence agency helping Americans"? Wouldn't that be more accurate? But that wouldn't have the scare factor, would it? It sounds like these are all good ways to use a very, very damned expensive investment for the direct good of the American people.
This is a grossly misleading headline.
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Blue Star Chronicles — May 13, 2006 @ 11:54 pm
By Black Jack, May 13, 2006 @ 12:11 pm
Gaius said, “This is a grossly misleading headline.”
Yes, and it shows how far professional journalism has descended into the muck of deliberate misinformation. The tricks and deceptions of carnival pitch men now regularly appear on the news pages, often under the banner of the Associated Press.
By Bradley J. Fikes, May 13, 2006 @ 9:57 pm
“Spy Agency Helping Americans” would be accurate. (You of course would say “Intelligence). But remember, reporters don’t write the headlines!
Also, heds tend to be written under extreme time pressure. Don’t assume every inaccurate or misleading hed is deliberate.
And just to be fair and balanced, why not dole out some praise for the reporter who pointed out the good things the agency is doing?
By Gaius, May 14, 2006 @ 5:40 am
To be fair, yes the reporter actually did a very good job on the article. Back when I was learning about newswriting (not journalism school, just a really, really fabulous teacher - long story) the percentage of people who read past the first paragraph was already low. I know it’s worse now.