The battle for your mind: the headlines

THERE is a war being waged in Guyana to capture the minds of the citizenry to promote agendas, an info war if you will. This is nothing new, this is the normal course of using information as a weapon, for positive and negative reasons.

However, it is worth noting that recently, by Guyana’s standards, it has intensified. Be that as it is, it would do us much good if we examine how this intensification is being manifested and above all, what is driving this development. It is all being played out in the headlines.
It is reasonable to conclude that this mad rush is being guided by the imminent prospects of Guyana’s nascent oil and gas economy.

In smoke-filled rooms, info war plots are being conceived among the chattering classes as they jostle for pole positions in this new, exciting economic reality that beckons. They know that information is power and he/she who captures public opinion is armed with a critical weapon. The headlines have become ground zero for this battle, they appear in newspapers or articles that are published online.

They do not contain many words, but they are carefully crafted to advance the agenda of the leadership of specific media entities.
This is beautiful democracy and while the writer might not agree with the embellishing of the facts and in some cases, the skewing of the facts, I will absolutely defend their right to freedom of expression. The objective of this writing is not to trouble that right in anyway, but to merely point to the clever art of headline-making.

I am not trained in journalism, but I am advised that you are told to make them simple, direct, bold and attractive. This is designed to grab attention and I am afraid, in this age of anti-intellectualism and with the art of reading at its nadir, it works. Here is an example of this tricky journalistic skill:

‘JOHN REFUSES TO PAY HIS TAXES’ (Headline)-P.3
‘The tax agency noted that John has a good track record of paying his taxes’-(Last paragraph of the article)
It could have read: ‘JOHN HAS A GOOD RECORD OF PAYING TAXES’ but this might not be in the interest of the communicator. This is seen and received and drives opinions about John.

Now, follow me as I apply the example above to more serious issues of national importance and consequence. Let us say you are dealing with a project that will benefit a community and the editorial powers that be are not in support of the project. Let us say their friend was not awarded the contract, the headlines will go to work to tear down this venture at any cost.

You will possibly see: ‘ALLEGED CORRUPT PROJECT BEGINS’. What or who should citizens believe? Where will they turn for the truth? They see contradicting information, one group says this programme is good for the community, another group says it is bad.

Oftentimes, the interest is not in the truth, but more about how this can be decorated to support the interests of a specific news agency. The editors would say: ‘well Mr. Austin, this is the business, it is nothing new.

Catchy headlines have always been designed to make people read an article and most importantly, to sell newspapers’. At the end of the day, it boils down to personal interest and who will benefit personally. It is all about the money for some and this is the dangerous ploy which has engulfed us on the cusp of oil wealth. It will take principled, honest and contented leadership to navigate this nation through this new development.

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