The Black Pineapple

This week I’m focusing on the ledes and headlines of two news story about hurricane Irma. The headline from the New York Post story was more impactful in contrast to the headline from ABC network’s (in Australia) story .

The headline in the New York Post was: “Hurricane Irma wipes tiny Caribbean island off the map.” This captivating headline screamed ‘Extra! Extra!’ However, it was misleading and essentially sensational. The island in question, Barbuda, still exist. Currently, life on the island would be difficult, but it definitely still exists. Also, the word ‘wipe’  is subjective and incorrect.

The other headline was: “Hurricane Irma: 90 per cent of Barbuda buildings destroyed as monster storm roars through Caribbean” was more informative however the use of the word ‘monster’ also seems subjective. I believe that stating the hurricane category would suffice.

These headlines are both impactful but also both subjective.

In regards to ledes, essentially the most critical part in an article. It should summarize the most important parts of the article while simultaneously being captivating.

I fond that the lede of the New York Post was well written because it effectively covered what the story was about, stating the what, where, when, why and how. ‘The tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda is “practically uninhabitable” after it was steamrolled by Hurricane Irma, officials there said as the superstorm’s confirmed death toll climbed to three Wednesday.”

The lede from the ABC network’s story was less interesting and initially wasn’t what the story was about. “Barbuda’s Prime Minister says 90 per cent of buildings and vehicles on the Caribbean island have been destroyed by Hurricane Irma.” This lede was mostly a repeat of the headline and the rest of the story wasn’t really focused on Barbuda s the lede and headline would imply.