I call it speculative journalism because I’m kind. It’s more accurate to call it click-bait or fillers. There are so many news headlines and articles that speculate about what might happen (but is unlikely to, at least in the short term), that I’m starting to wonder if there’s an arm of journalism that’s sole purpose is to try and predict unlikely future events.
Surely if something might happen but is unlikely to, that’s not news? If it does happen or if it is more likely than not to happen then say so. I grant you, there’s a spectrum and at some point a predicted event does become newsworthy. At that point, however, I expect the headline to indicate that an event is going to happen or is very likely to happen.
For the past few months I have avoided reading any articles with a news headline that contains any of the following words; could, might or may. Here are a few that made me roll my eyes…
Victoria may be able to pursue security company for cost of hotel quarantine failures – and I might be able to buy a Ferrari tomorrow (if I win the lottery). Tell me when Victoria does actually go after the security company.
Qantas could be taken over by cashed-up Wesfarmers – really? I confess; I did go on to read this article. Within the first paragraph realised it’s all speculation. At the end of the article they mention that there are 42 companies Wesfarmers could buy – if they choose to acquire another company.
Echoes of the GFC: The US could be repeating its 2009 mistakes – OK, so are they, or aren’t they?
Smartphone app could help dementia patients – but the app hasn’t been tested yet, blah, blah, blah. This was a video, not an article, and I watched it. The app doesn’t help with dementia, it might help people who have dementia who can’t communicate let others know when they’re in pain. But who knows?
Foran could switch to hooker at Manly to prevent young gun leaving – sounds like it was a slow news day.
In a dry landscape, this haunting Drysdale could set a new record – I was going to say something snarky about my daughter’s paintings, but I actually like the Drysdale painting (so much so, it’s the feature image for this post). However, tell me when it does set a new record.
Test at Gabba could be key to large sport crowds – just tell me; is it or not? Surely that’s why they ran the test in the first place?
Senate could block $18 billion energy road map due to carbon capture – instead of saying it could, tell me that there are concerns in the senate around the energy road map that focus on carbon capture. Even better, tell me when the road map is blocked in the Senate.
Regional Victoria could benefit as working from home becomes new normal – pure speculation here. Nothing is normal right now. Even my coffee tastes a little strange. This one annoys me particularly if you’ve read my blog post about what a post COVID world looks like.
Job losses across inner city could last years – where’s that Ferrari?
If there ever was a time to be more questioning of the news it is now. We need to be vigilant about what we accept as news. Skimming the headlines is not catching up on the news. And just because it appears below a masthead, or is said on a radio / TV news bulletin doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t scrutinize it as thoroughly as information we get from our kids when we want to know where all the cookies went.