I just came across a link to this article on The Drudge Report. The link on Drudge and the title of the article on Reuters was listed as “Maine lawyer arrested after dressing as bin Laden…“. This would lead many to believe that a man was arrested for dressing as bin Laden, but obviously dressing as bin Laden or anyone else is not a crime. It is not until reading down through the article that the crime committed is mentioned: “…was arrested on Tuesday after he dressed up as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and waved a fake gun at traffic.”

This may be a minor example, but it shows how news can be very misleading especially when a title or tag line is used to make the the story appear sensational. This is one of the many reasons I do not watch news on TV. TV only makes the sensationlism even worse when you have the audio and visual working together. I’ve had enough of “Are you safe in your own home??? Find out tonight at 11.” I am convinced that news is no different than most other television. The most entertaining stories are the ones that get published. The newsworthyness of stories is not based on importance, relevance, or necessity but rather what is most likely to grab the attention of the most viewers. A little caution and discretion are often needed.