Information over provocation

Ask anyone at the Indiana Daily Student: A great headline is a precious thing. Summing up a 700-word article in a mere four-word phrase is not an easy thing to do. The headline has to make sense, it needs to relate to the story, it must inform, but it also has to grab the reader. The headline is a hook to entice the reader to keep reading, which is why so many headlines are puns or plays on words. It's that sort of attention-grabbing mentality that steered the IDS into the realm of the offensive last week when management published the headline: "All-white jury will judge accused killer in Jill Behrman case" (Oct. 3). Let's be frank; southern Indiana is not exactly the most diverse region in the country. In fact, according to 2004 U.S. Census figures, Morgan County, the trial's venue, is 98.5 percent white -- hence, it's nearly a statistical guarantee that of the few dozen randomly selected jury candidates, the 15 chosen will be Caucasian. Though the IDS headline is factually accurate, by specifically singling out race as the common thread between the jurors, the headline begs the reader to speculate unnecessarily into the fairness of the trial and the objectivity of the jury. After all, how can a jury of one's peers be considered representative and impartial if the prosecution and defense decided to cut potential jurors because of their race? (For the record, the defendant, John R. Meyers II, is white as well).\nHad the headline simply read "Behrman case has 15 jurors for trial" (Louisville Courier-Journal, Oct. 4) or "Behrman jury to start at 15" (Indianapolis Star, Oct. 3), the average reader would have learned all he needed to know before breezing over to the next article. There would be no incentive to read further. So we opted for sensationalism over substance. While the Oct. 6 Reporter-Times in Martinsville focused on the jurors' backgrounds with "Jurors for Myers mostly married, with varied jobs," the IDS played the race card.\nHowever, the story did not attempt to infer any issues of racial bias on the jury. Indeed, the story was straightforward, written only to inform the IDS readership that a jury had been selected for the murder trial in the Jill Behrman case. Upon looking at the jury, one finds that the members are average Joes and Janes: eight men, seven women between 23 and 57, some with advanced degrees, some without. Facing a dull story with a duller headline -- as if the Behrman trial is not a sensitive enough issue on its own -- management took it upon itself to give the story that extra pizzazz. \nProvoking controversy for controversy's sake is the job of the Opinion Page, not the body of the IDS. The headline should attract readers without resorting to such gimmicks. Newspapers are not entertainment; they're information. A story should be attention-worthy on its own merits. A newspaper doesn't need to provoke it further.