As the Midterm elections approach, we have hit a new low in American journalism. For generations, the classic definition of “news” in newsrooms across the country was when a man bites a dog rather than the common opposite. I had thought that was apocryphal until it finally happened in my lifetime — and modern journalism blew it.
Bradford Kanan, age unknown, was arrested yesterday in Volusia County, Florida, for biting a dog, among other charges. And no, the copyeditor couldn’t just write what I would argue is the obligatory headline, “Man Bites Dog.” It came out as does much of our news, complicated and overwrought: “Florida Man Bites K-9, Threatens to Shoot Deputy.”
Sadly, threatening to shoot a law-enforcement officers is hardly news these days, and K-9 is merely a homophone for canine (although the editor might have been trying to give his readers more information, e.g., that the dog in question was specifically trained to assist police.)
My point is that modern media can’t seem to bring itself to just give us the news straight even when the news is the very definition of news.
All of which is to wish you luck sorting out the election reports next week. — tcl
