Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Slightly bizarre ...

... In times of trouble, fiction thrives. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

What's bizarre is the headline. For one thing, a headline should never swipe the lead. And this story may begin with a somewhat facile correlation between bad times and the writing of fiction, but the story itself establishes no connection between the current economy and what the people mentioned are doing. They all seem to be writing in order to satisfy a deep, longtime need. So the headline, by swiping the lead, in fact gives a false impression of what the story - which is quite interesting - has to say. But headline and lead do reflect a common narrative in today's media. (There's something else that might help newspapers - drop the one-size-fits-all common narratives that serve as substitutes for thought.)

2 comments:

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  2. ITA, Frank. Carlin musta been steamed, eh? I also believe you're correct about the one-size-fits-all narrative. Good for you. It's actually the One-Size-Fitz-All one you gotta watch :) . . .

    Smoooooooooooooooch.

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