02-20-2003, 07:17 PM
Hi,
A little know fact about journalism is that headlines are seldom written by the reporters doing the story. A special editor is in charge of the headlines. A large part of the reason is that when the reporter submits the story, he has no idea how many columns it will be allocated and where on the page it will appear. Both those factors influence the amount of space available for the headline. Neither of those factors are known until the paper is in layout.
So, attributing the ignorance of the headline editor to the reporter is unfair. And, indeed, as Occhi pointed out a million casualties *overall* is not an impossible or even unlikely figure if chemical weapons are used in a reasonably crowded area.
--Pete
A little know fact about journalism is that headlines are seldom written by the reporters doing the story. A special editor is in charge of the headlines. A large part of the reason is that when the reporter submits the story, he has no idea how many columns it will be allocated and where on the page it will appear. Both those factors influence the amount of space available for the headline. Neither of those factors are known until the paper is in layout.
So, attributing the ignorance of the headline editor to the reporter is unfair. And, indeed, as Occhi pointed out a million casualties *overall* is not an impossible or even unlikely figure if chemical weapons are used in a reasonably crowded area.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?