…open up a new thread and blast away at me.
Let me state one thing first, I am not “blasting” away at you, I am writing legitimate criticism of biased and inaccurate material cloaked as reportage.
If those opinions were clearly described as opinion or editorial I wouldn’t be writing this. As much as I disagree with your opinions on this matter, they are yours to express.
“If you wrote in the article that WSF claimed in a social media post that the yacht “hit” the ferry” - WTF, that’s exactly what we wrote.
The headline of the videos that still exist online state “WSF vs Idiot Boater” and “Caught On Camera – Boater Crashes Into Washington State Ferry”
One implies there was some kind of contest, the other is patently false.
Compelling, factual, and short headlines are THE most difficult part of an article to write… and there are entire J school course that focus just on headline writing… and if you still disagree with me then act like a journalist yourself and find and cite the proof.
Proof of ?
I know that short and compelling headlines can sometimes be difficult, but they are not rocket science, just good (and often fun) wordsmithing. I learned that in a Journalism class titled “Headline Writing.”
“Plus you can’t put acronyms in a title because no one who lives further than 100 miles from your house knows WTF “WSF” means.”
“Vashon Ferry Rams Yacht” would be short, accurate [SIZE=3](sort of), and sensational enough to attract a lot of attention if you are hoping to have the story picked up or quoted by other media outlets. Vashon may not mean anything to people beyond Puget Sound but it is a key word for other media looking for current material. Ferry Rams Yacht attracts readers even if the event happened in Bumfukistan.
Follow the headline with the word Opinion or Editorial and have at it. You are then free to call everyone involved whatever you want and can bury inconvenient facts if they don’t contribute to the color of the content.
Just try and avoid playing the Professional Mariner card to prop up a story before fact checking has even begun. A few of us professional mariners saw instantly what was happening and were kind of amazed that so many others were so strongly opposing the facts that were so plainly visible.
This site is probably one of the very few places the lay reader can find facts and opinions first hand from professional mariners. It is too valuable and important a source to blur the distinction between fact and opinion.
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