Editorial: Make sure you read and don’t get fooled by headlines

First of all, I hope everybody is continuing to stay safe, especially after this past week that consisted of Hurricane Isaias and the continued monitoring of COVID-19. That brings me to today’s editorial that keeps it simple as possible: Read before assumption.

The current climate of the world sees the consistent pumping out of news articles and stories on a daily basis. While many are geared towards COVID-19, there are often ploys inputted into headlines that attempt to grab a person’s attention. On social media, these headlines are spread before a person has even read the article. There have been instances where articles are presented as “new” stories, but yet they date back several years.

Yes, I am employed by a local newspaper, but we try to push forward accurate information. When you look today, multiple outlets have their own personal agendas, specifically those who broadcast nationally. Outlets can receive the same information about a story and present it two different ways. And even then, the subject matter can be the same and viewed differently by others.

Let’s take COVID-19 for example. (Yes, I thought I was going to stop bringing it up in my past editorials, but I would like to make a point.) Everyday, they present information about the increase in the number of cases within each state and our country. Occasionally, news outlets will publish an update on hospital releases.

The only thing that bothers me the most about this is that if the cases have been reported and then the person is cleared of symptoms, why do they keep that number in the total count? I don’t want anybody to succumb to the disease or get sick, but I’d like to see these numbers reflect as accurately as possible. Let’s show each other that we are making efforts to reduce that number.

Reading and deciphering information will be key for the remainder of the year. From school openings to elections, the wording of a headline can be deceiving. One of the most recent ones was the Virginia High School League’s announcement that high school football would be cancelled for the Fall season. Many news outlets immediately ran with headlines along the line that high school football was cancelled. If a person truly read the article and information, they would come to the realization that football would more than likely move to the Spring, which was confirmed on July 27.

In conclusion, don’t let headlines lead you to misinformation. No story will be perfect, but the context of them should be.