24 April 2006

Shoddy headlining

BerlinBear avatarOh dear! The BBC news website has been hit by the shoddy headlining bug which plagues so many newspapers as well. From this article's headline we learn the extremely dramatic news that all of Peru has been evacuated:

Volcano prompts Peru evacuation

it screams. Curious as to where all the residents of Peru had been sent, I read on, only to discover that in fact it's the residents of villages close to the Ubinas volcano, which is currently erupting in Southern Peru. While this is doubtless a very significant event in the lives of the people affected, it's not remotely what the headline says.

What they meant of course is:

Volcano prompts Peruvian evacuation

or alternatively:

Volcano prompts evacuation in Peru

A subtle difference, but an important one. It means the difference between the headline telling the beginning of the story or being complete nonsense. Come on BBC, pull your socks up!

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