Another poorly headlined EV article

[Glenn]

Carolyn Lochhead, The San Francisco Chronicle's Washington correspondent, wrote a fairly innocuous piece for today's SFGate:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Electric-cars-battle-for-hearts-wallets-4286781.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even though it's tantalizing titled "Electric cars battle for hearts, wallets" the article itself seems well balanced, with references to Brodergate, Thomas Edison, Jerry Brown and the UPS fleet, quotes from happy owners, and measured remarks from industry analysts. It ends with an upbeat statement from Nissan's director of marketing and sales, Brendan Jones: "All manufacturers better have alternative vehicle platforms that are viable, And what's more viable than no gas?"

As one would suspect, the comments section doesn't lack for barbs from the usual suspects, but it's the wording of teaser link on SFGate's front page that does the real damage: "Electric cars fight to thrive. Their owners gush, but with sales weak, can these plug-in vehicles stave off oblivion?" I suspect Ms Lochhead didn't write the teaser, and its true that the article itself will outlast the ever-changing front page, but really, "stave off oblivion?" In today's attention deficit world of e-news readers, what are people more likely to take away from this; the content of a thousand word article, or the last three words of an inappropriate headline?

 

[thankyouOB]

it is not very often that a hedline writer gets to use the word "oblivion."
must have been an itch that needed scratching, and also a bit too cute.

 

[Nubo]

Headline: "Electric cars fight to thrive. Their owners gush, but with sales weak, can these plug-in vehicles stave off oblivion?"

Owners love their EVs..... EVs are doomed :lol:

 

[TomT]

In the newspaper business, the headline is almost never written by the article author. The editor adds/modifies it as he/she sees fit.

I suspect Ms Lochhead didn't write the teaser, and its true that the article itself will outlast the ever-changing front page, but really, "stave off oblivion?"

 

[thankyouOB]

In the newspaper business, the headline is almost never written by the article author. The editor adds/modifies it as he/she sees fit.

I suspect Ms Lochhead didn't write the teaser, and its true that the article itself will outlast the ever-changing front page, but really, "stave off oblivion?"

hedlines are written by the copy desk; not even by the line editors.
good ones will strive for grabby wording, but faithful to the article.