You may have noticed a trend in the world of headlines.
All too often, headline writers, instead of simply summarizing the story, add terms like “what we know,” “what you should know,” and “what we know so far.” You can also add the “Here’s what you should know” phrase that made its way into a bitcoin “explainer” story in the New York Times.
Yes, I have used the headline crutch a few times but pulled back as it moved into the tiresome territory.
In recent months, the use of such headlines has spread like that vine that overtakes roadsides and even utility poles.
A few recent social media posts do indicate that grammar sticklers are not pleased.
Still, it’s preferable to clickbait headlines like “Why Tom Sellick is leaving Bluebloods.” Such headlines popped up in Google ads long before the show featuring the mustached star went into its final season. Another favorite was fake news from the addictive TV series Yellowstone.
What we know headlines have spread to Delaware but seem to be confined to the local Gannett newspaper, one recent example being “It looks like Aldi’s expanding again in Delaware – Here’s what we know.” A less wordy option would have been “Aldi plans store in north Wilmington.”
Out of curiosity, I ran the above headlines through an AI-driven headline analyzer, with the more conventional north Wilmington headline getting a score of 57. The Delaware Online head generated a dismal 7.5.
Despite the low score, based on a measurement of “emotional content” that might drive one to read the story, we can expect many “what we know” heads,” during election year, even when it is clear there’s nothing new to report. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
