No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?

Subject: No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?
From: Peter T.
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 12:15 PM

This is not about the ridiculous nature of the Weapons of Mass Destruction argument, but some amusement at the failed language of reporters. How can anyone use the term "no smoking gun" about a weapons report that details thousands of guns, smoked and unsmoked?

I remember one from years ago -- "Oil Company Greases Palms," where the writer clearly was not trying to be witty, was just not paying attention!!!

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 12:30 PM

Sensible papers have someone to read this stuff through to avoid The Curse of the Un-Dead Metaphor. Reminds me of the famous headline in a British paper during the war: "Eighth Army Push Bottles Up German Rear" (Except, if that ever actually appeared, I'd be pretty sure it was intentional.)

Subject: RE: No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 01:01 PM

'Industrial Waste: Government to Step In' was the best I managed during a competition among bored subeditors on a quiet night to produce the most ridiculous headline. And no, it didn't appear.

Subject: RE: No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 03:16 PM

It's not surprising that it happens, I think. I've noticed not only that one is supersensitized to anything on a subject on one's mind, one creates situations on it.

A very small analogy: When I'm playing a word game where I want to make an esoteric word using the letter 'x', say, because I already have almost all the components to that particular word, again and again I will find I used the X in another word that didn't make nearly the same number of points. And only because I was sensitized to that letter.

Just so with a subject. A story about 'oil', for instance, brings the subliminal concept of greasiness into one's mind and if one isn't careful - or doesn't have a good proof reader- that is the word that is going to be used.

Subject: RE: No 'Smoking Gun' in Weapons Report?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 03 Oct 03 - 03:56 PM

All these headlines about "Government Intelligence" are related examples of this.

When we had John Major as Prime Minister, there were always headlines about anything and everything that must have rubbed him the wrong way, - "Major Disaster" "Major Breakdown" and so forth.