The Problem With Pronouns and Fast News
This picture above is from the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The headline in the picture is completely wrong, as you’ll see if you read the article:
Why did the writer of the headline on the front page make such a huge mistake? I think it’s because of the vagueness of the “he” that starts the second sentence of this paragraph:
Covington police Detective Bryan Frodge continued to defend his investigation as he was cross examined for a second day by defense lawyer Eric Deters. He is trying to establish that the student made up a story that he “bagged” a teacher to earn bragging rights with his peers.
“He” means Eric Deters, the defense attorney, of course. But the person putting the story on the front page read it quickly and thought that the “he” was the detective. Any sensible reader would be able to figure out who “he” is, but newspapers are updating content so quickly that they can’t take time for a sensible reading of the news they publish. I can understand the rush to deliver truly vital news, but nothing about this trial is vital. Maybe the Enquirer should slow down a little before they toss headlines onto the front page.
