| 29 January 2010
It's time to throw all caution to the wind and enjoy the funnier side of life. I don't know about you, but this week has been entirely too serious. So let's get to the fun!
WELCOME TO WTF FRIDAY!
During my first year as a full-time journalist, ten years ago, there was one headline that caught the attention of the small surrounding area the newspaper served. The story was what we call a "wire story." It was a story pulled from the paid Associated Press news feed for our weekend religion section.
As far as stories go, it was pretty routine. It was about a meeting held in Rome with the top-ranking cardinals of the Catholic church. These high-ranking religious officials were meeting to discuss what would happen when the sitting Pope at the time, John Paul II, passed away. It was a meeting to explain the steps that must be taken from death to the induction of a new Pope.
The headline, however, told a different story: "Cardinals Make Plans Following Pope's Death"
Since you know the details before the headline, it probably doesn't seem shocking. But let's look at it from the reader's point of view.
"Cardinals Make Plans Following Pope's Death"
Reader: The Pope died? Why wasn't I told? There was nothing said about this at church on Sunday? Oh my goodness, I need to call my priest. I bet he doesn't know.
On Monday morning, the office was flooded with calls from the heavily Catholic community the newspaper served. Our readers wanted to know how we knew the Pope died and their priest didn't. Who did we know in Rome? Why is the church keeping it secret? And the pressing question: Why wasn't this story on the front page?
As you can see things can blow up pretty quickly in the news business. So for today's WTF Friday post, I'm celebrating the imperfect people who are supposed to serve perfect news.
**First up, five of my favorite headlines that make you do a double take:**
This first set comes from BannedInHollywood.com
The shocking statistic:
Whew, that was close.
This one was totally intentional.
The next two come from Oddee.com
I'm going to guess a lot of thought did not go into this one:
An adventure even Indy Jones probably wouldn't want:
**But don't think the broadcasters have any easier... they are LIVE:**
These are all straight from YouTube:
I can't blame the guy for this one, I'm still laughing.
This one falls into the "WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION" category:
For those who like the painful kind of humor:
Enjoy your Friday! Remember no matter what it is you do for a living, try to have some fun with it.
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Comments
Tracie, a chewing out usually does follow the mistake. But I have to tell you, when I was a working reporter I got chewed out for much less (it can be a rough business sometimes).
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