The record-union., 1896-04-10
HOW HEADLINES ARE Made
TO LIE.

Journalism is nevermore debased and
prostituted than when it engages in the
miserable deceit of trickery to mislead
the reader. Misleading is worse by far
than plain lying. 1t is covert and
cowardly assault upon the intelligence
of the reader and trespass upon his
confidence.
Here we have significant instance
of this in yesterdays issue Of the San
Francisco Call" That paper is aware
that there is very large portion OF
the reading public that cannot and will
not take the necessary two or three
hours of a day to wade through the
blanket sheets of metropolitan papers
and read them line by line. The custom
therefore is with most Of these papers
to attempt to express in many flaming
headlines the points" made in the ar
ticle the head introduces. In doing so
those papers having a selfish end in
view, point to make or a cause to
promote, have taken mean advantage
and come to the editing OF headlines
in way not justified by the text OF the
articles.
1t has really become an art, this writ
ing of heads to mislead the readers
mind, and yet to comport somewhat
with the text supposed to be indexed.
AS an example take the head in yes
terday's Calf concerning the 'harbor
tn r Ay,er II,
head lines of it's report read that five
thousand people attended the mass
meeting held in the interest of San
Pedro harbor and in denunciation Of the
Santa Monica harbor Other lines speak
of stirring denunciatory resolutions
adopted. Of shouts and enthusiasm, etc.
Then follow these lines: Southern Pa
cific Session. Huntington Packs a Hall
by Running Trains from Santa Monica"
When we come to read the text OF the
article we learn how these headlines
have been made to mislead and lie. The
San Pedro harbor meeting. we are told.
was attended by 5000 people and
throughout the report it is made clear
InAl the ACCOUNT u DtdSco ki1 AdNoA vi
that meeting, so much so that it may be
said to be a warped and not impartial
report of the proceedings. Further on
we discover that the other meeting.
styled "a Southern Pacific Session."
filed Illinois Hall with 1000 people of
the city and county; that 1T overfiowed
into the street with 1900 more, and
that these two meetings, at which the
"CalP' sneers, were presided over and
addressed by some OF the Oldest, best
known and most representative and es-
teemed citizens Of Los Angeles city and
county; men whose standing in the COM
munity Is Of the first order and puts
them beyond and above the doing of
mean or small things.
It is said that a large part of these two
assemblages came from Santa Monica
and another near point But there is
no mention as to whether in the other
meeting San Pedro and its vicinity were
not represented also, and in fact they
were. For the matter of that, since all
the places named are in Los Angeles
County, and are as much interested in
the harbor question as Los Angeles
City, It Is difficult to understand why
these citizens should not attend and
why their expression Is not OF first value
in the premises; in the case Of the over
fiow meeting 1t was distinctly stated to
be a city and county assemblage, and its
resolutions so speak Of 1t.
Here, then. is one instance OF very
many in which it Is clearly attempted
to mislead the reader of headlines. and
induce him to think In a direction d.
rectly opposed to the truth, for 1t is en-
tirely reasonable to conclude that since
the Calls" report confesses that the
Santa Monica meeting had 1000 people
in attendance while the other had 5000,
the truth Is that the overflow meeting
was much the larger. Moreover, it ap-
pears from the ''CaVs" report that the
so-called Santa Monica meeting was not
In the interest OF that harbor alone. but
that 1t was . meeting declaring for both