Crime story headlines

[Deadline Dame]

We all know the libel drill: Man was CHARGED in shooting death; Alleged shooter holed up in house, etc.

However, what is your feeling in this case. Routine crime roundup. Man reports he was attacked with a hatchet. Attacker named and arrested for assault. Police report says the attacker admitted he did do a hatchet job on the other guy and is quoted in the story, from the police report, as saying he used the hatchet on the guy in self-defense.

Would a headline saying "man assaulted with hatchet" be OK because of the statement, or would you stay on the side of caution and say "man charged in hatchet attack?" The first is more dramatic, the second safer.

I'm guessing most would stay on the side of caution. Is there any risk in the first?

[Jim Thomsen]

In my opinion, no.

[dangermike]

I'd be concerned about a couple things:

1. Since police can only arrest (not charge -- at least in the places I've worked), I'd not say guy was charged with anything unless he really was charged.
2. I'd worry about using "assault," too, since if the guy says it was self-defense and it's determined that it was, there was no assault.

I guess I'd just say Guy Arrested in Fight or something and avoid the hatchet thing altogether, unless it's just so amazing that it's a hatchet that you have to use it. But in a crime roundup thing, that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Gerri Berendzen]

Police may arrest someone on a certain charge, but that's not necessarily the charge that will be filed when the prosecutor's office gets the case.

So I'd go for caution on a story like this. Who knows, when the prosecutors get this case, they may not file any charges at all.

[Jim Thomsen]

True ... in the story, we usually say "on suspicion of" ... and then list the charge. But I wouldn't quibble over "on assault charge" for a headline.

[JerseyJoe]

We all know the libel drill: Man was CHARGED in shooting death; Alleged shooter holed up in house, etc.

However, what is your feeling in this case. Routine crime roundup. Man reports he was attacked with a hatchet. Attacker named and arrested for assault. Police report says the attacker admitted he did do a hatchet job on the other guy and is quoted in the story, from the police report, as saying he used the hatchet on the guy in self-defense.

Would a headline saying "man assaulted with hatchet" be OK because of the statement, or would you stay on the side of caution and say "man charged in hatchet attack?" The first is more dramatic, the second safer.

I'm guessing most would stay on the side of caution. Is there any risk in the first?

To answer your question, a headline saying "Man Assaulted with Hatchet" would be fine. It's a fact. Someone was assaulted with a hatchet.

In the story you have to make sure you make clear the guy is only arrested and charged, that he's not guilty of the attack.

[Deadline Dame]

To further clarify--yes, we only use the word "charged" if the story says the person was indeed charged with something specific. When someone is arrested, they usually are charged with something by the time the stories being written. So in a sense, isn't "arrested" and "charged" almost interchangable in a hed unless the reporter is witnessing an arrest and writing it up before charges are filed? I must admit I don't know a lot about the intricacies of law enforcement and the legal system.

Jersy Joe, you made a good point. Someone was indeed attacked with a hatchet, so saying man attacked with hatchet is different than saying man attacks friend with hatchet.

We are always supposed to write compelling headlines if possible, and crime stories lend themselves to that, but can be tricky because of libel, so it's smart to be safe, though crime heds will always sound the same and be less compelling. A Catch-22. I think using the word hatchet in the hed is a must, as it's not every day that someone gets the ax. Literally that is. :D