Perusing CNN.com in the mornings, I'm always drawn to the crazy-ass headlines, like "An Engine Full of Pit Bull," and "Eagle to Get Second Chance with Bionic Beak."
Besides being animal stories, which I love, there's just something about a catchy headline that gets me.
Now, the "Engine Full of Pit Bull" was a video report well worth watching because it's done right, if cheaply. It seems this man in Vacaville, Calif., opened the hood of his truck yesterday morning to find a 60-pound pit bull wedged in the engine.
But you don't know that right away. First, it's the guy telling you what happened, but there's no mention of pit bull. You can already see it coming, of course, because of the headline, but that just builds your anticipation for the pictures, which you have to assume are forthcoming because it's a video report.
And then, there it is: Pickup Truck Engine with Pit Bull Head. A fantastic, Dali-esque image.
It's great. The dog is unhurt, and was able to unwedge itself when enough people gathered around and it got all wiggly and excited. Greasy and tired, the un-collared dog was taken to an area animal shelter and officials hope the owner will come claim it.
The bionic beak story had one photo, really all you needed to see. The bald eagle had been rescued in Alaska where, apparently, the top, curving half of her beak had been shot off. Without it, she cannot eat or drink without help.
Now some genius (probably the same guys at Google who can tailor the overline ads to the subjects of my e-mails) is making a beak out of light, durable nylon composite with the help of a dentist, vet and other experts, and will glue it to the jagged stump of the half-beak.
The eagle won't be able to live free, or cut and tear flesh as raptors do, but she will be able to drink on her own and eat the food she's given without assistance, they hope. If glue doesn't hold, they'll try screws to attach the beak.
Some people don't think it will work. I hope there's a follow-up story.
2 comments:
CNN is particularly proud of its crazy headlines, for better or for worse. They sell them on T-shirts now. I know the guy who started the ad agency whose brainchild this is. It's just an interesting commentary on journalism in the digital world, I think. It's really a product/brand.
Well, catchy heads have always been a thing in papers. We used to love rock & roll headlines, like the infamous John Ford's "Meet the New Boss," when Clinton was first elected. But now, online, we have the chance to do them for everyone to see right away -- the cleverer the better. My old boss, Robert, is really good at them for the Everett Herald. Me, I have to be in headline mode to write good ones. It's a zen thing.
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