Degeneration of a New York Times Headline, Part II
The original New York Times headline last week about Palestinian violence on the Gaza Strip border with Israel was straightforward, precise and accurate: “Palestinian sniper attack on Israeli patrol at Gaza border sets off clash.”
Which is why we immediately took a screen shot, fully expecting it to change in short order. Indeed, by the next day, the updated headline carefully exonerated Palestinians from responsibility for the sniper attack and for setting off the clash.
Who was that sniper? Palestinian or Israeli? Casual readers who glance just at headlines would have no idea. An editor made the deliberate choice to no longer have the sniper identified as Palestinian.
This is the second time in recent weeks in which we have seen a New York Times headline become less informative with the passage of time.
Last month, after a Palestinian fatally stabbed an Israeli soldier at a Tel Aviv train station, The Times initially ran a headline which clearly identified the perpetrator as Palestinian: “Palestinian Stabs Israeli Soldier at Tel Aviv Train Station.”
By the end of the day, after a second lethal Palestinian stabbing attack, the headline devolved into:
As we noted at the time:
The first, clearer headline is active (“Palestinian stabs”), while the passive language in the newest headline (“Palestinians are suspected”) downplays Palestinian culpability. The first headline states as fact that a Palestinian was responsible for the stabbing. According to the latest version , Palestinians are only “suspected.”
In the current headline, Israelis “die,” they are not “killed,” language which again downplays Palestinian responsibility for violence.
At The New York Times, editors consider it their job to eliminate clear, direct headlines about Palestinian violence.
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