Saturday, 12 January 2019

The elements of an excellent commercial

The elements of a great commercial
Classified ads are all round us. whether we're watching television, using down the freeway, flipping via a mag, or taking note of the radio, we are bombarded on every side with the aid of messages looking to get us to buy a products or services. And although there had been limitless debates over whether or not or no longer advertising is powerful and whether it clearly does have an impact on human beings to buy merchandise, the reality is many agencies will spend billions of dollars on a single advertisement within the hopes that it will growth their earnings.

accurate commercials have the power to make human beings forestall and take notice. you need to have been residing below a rock not to notice the fulfillment of Geico's caveman series or the iPod's silhouette series of classified ads and commercials. And as a result of those advertisements, sales went up appreciably for those  corporations.

marketing creates cognizance of the product and may bring messages, attitudes, and emotions to entice and intrigue audiences. as a minimum those are the desired outcomes of an commercial. unnecessary to mention, a few commercials fail miserably of their reason.

So, what makes the difference among a a success advertisement and an unsuccessful one? it's all in the design. generally, larger companies produce more powerful classified ads, even as newer and smaller companies are the ones that produce the duds. This is largely due to the fact bigger companies have the cash to rent specialists while smaller groups do not.

The advantage of hiring an in-house advertising and marketing developer or hiring an advertising business enterprise is which you get the competencies of people who have been trained in developing effective advertisements. Many have spent years and years going to highschool, analyzing beyond effective advertisements, looking at elements of design, and learning how to create their personal effective advertising campaigns.

studying the way to create effective classified ads does not occur in a single day, however there are a few simple regulations that many workers for expert marketing corporations observe to create powerful commercials so as to appeal to audiences and hopefully boom the company's sales. the subsequent paragraphs list some advertising concepts that businesses and advertisers comply with while growing their very own advertising campaigns.

possibly the maximum crucial satisfactory of an commercial is its uniqueness. In a international wherein people often see hundreds of commercials an afternoon, an advertisement ought to be particular and distinctive as a way to seize audiences' interest. Going returned to the iPod example, the single block of coloration with an image of a black silhouette changed into extremely powerful at the time because it became in contrast to whatever else round it. The simplicity of the commercial stood out against posters and billboards that had busier pictures and lots extra textual content. additionally, the usage of bright, formidable colors made humans forestall and examine the photo. despite the fact that the advertisement had little text on it, people were given the message that this product was new, a laugh, and formidable.

Of course, there are a selection of ways to make your advertisement stand out. look around your place and write down descriptions of advertisements you spot. What are the tendencies? Are they textual content heavy? Do they use similar colors? What types of images are on the commercials? when you begin noticing traits, try to consider methods your advertisement can go against the ones trends and be some thing exclusive--something that will make people forestall and appearance.

One word of caution: as soon as you've made human beings stop and take a look at your advertisement, they want to be able to recognize what you are promoting. you may have the maximum 32012fd371b2d8bbf6e5e631dc96cdaf photograph in your advertisement, but if it is completely unrelated for your products or services, then visitors won't understand what you need them to buy. So, ensure that while you are deciding on your snap shots and textual content in your advertisement, people will apprehend what you're seeking to promote.

A properly-designed commercial will even talk nicely to audiences. with a purpose to figure out how to make your commercial effective, you need to identify your audience. who are you trying to target? young adults? The elderly? commercial enterprise human beings? mother and father? There are a diffusion of different audiences, and the more specifically you can pick out the target audience in your product, the higher danger you have of designing an ad as a way to efficiently influence your target audience.

as an example, if your target market includes young teenage women, you may pick out to apply shiny and bold shades, however for enterprise humans you could want to create an commercial that makes use of extra professional blues and blacks (however do not be afraid to be a bit bolder if you're seeking to stand out).

The secret is to think about the overall traits of your unique target market and try to mirror the ones traits on your advertisement. What do they value? What do they worry? What motivates them? as soon as you've got responded those questions, it must be simpler to come up with a few stable ideas for an marketing marketing campaign.

once you've advanced some ideas for 19e3b638485e90744b4ca28bb56e58cc advertisement and identified the way you want to communicate with your specific target market, some correct, strong design principles want to come into play. The commercial wishes to be legible. visitors shouldn't should work to get what you're attempting to say. The commercial desires stability. One aspect shouldn't feel heavier than the opposite. The advertisement need to also make desirable use of comparison, repetition, color, and pattern. whilst these layout elements are applied properly into an commercial, the end result is a splendid advert that will appeal aesthetically to viewers.

The above is only a quick evaluate of what advertisers need to consider while designing an advert. you can see why many human beings find it helpful to lease an advertising and marketing employer to assist them expand ideas and create powerful classified ads. And whether or not you are searching out a Seattle or a Miami advertising organization, you should not have a trouble finding an organization on your region that will help you create the proper commercial marketing campaign for your corporation.

So, if you're taking into account creating a brand new advert or advert marketing campaign in your company, by following the above tips and suggestions, you may create the maximum impact classified ads as viable, bring the message you need to carry, and be one your way to increasing revenue.


advertisements are all round us. whether or not we are looking television, using down the freeway, flipping via a magazine, or taking note of the radio, we are bombarded on each facet through messages seeking to get us to buy a products or services. And although there had been infinite debates over whether or now not advertising is powerful and whether it really does influence people to purchase products, the reality is many corporations will spend billions of greenbacks on a unmarried commercial within the hopes that it will growth their profits.

right advertisements have the strength to make humans stop and take be aware. you have to were living beneath a rock no longer to notice the fulfillment of Geico's caveman series or the iPod's silhouette collection of commercials and advertisements. And because of the ones commercials, income went up drastically for those  businesses.

marketing creates cognizance of the product and might bring messages, attitudes, and emotions to entice and intrigue audiences. at least those are the favored outcomes of an advertisement. useless to say, a few commercials fail miserably of their reason.

So, what makes the distinction between a a success commercial and an unsuccessful one? it is all in the layout. commonly, large agencies produce greater effective commercials, even as newer and smaller agencies are those that produce the duds. This is essentially because bigger agencies have the money to lease experts at the same time as smaller agencies do now not.

The advantage of hiring an in-house advertising and marketing developer or hiring an advertising organisation is that you get the capabilities of humans who've been skilled in creating powerful commercials. Many have spent years and years going to highschool, studying past powerful classified ads, searching at factors of layout, and learning a way to create their personal effective advertising campaigns.

gaining knowledge of how to create powerful classified ads does not occur overnight, but there are a few easy policies that many employees for professional advertising and marketing agencies comply with to create effective advertisements so that it will enchantment to audiences and with any luck growth the company's sales. the following paragraphs list a few marketing concepts that companies and advertisers observe when growing their personal advertising campaigns.

possibly the maximum vital quality of an commercial is its uniqueness. In a global where human beings often see hundreds of commercials a day, an commercial must be unique and extraordinary with a view to capture audiences' attention. Going back to the iPod example, the single block of colour with an image of a black silhouette was extraordinarily effective at the time because it changed into in contrast to something else around it. The simplicity of the advertisement stood out in opposition to posters and billboards that had busier photos and lots more textual content. additionally, using vibrant, bold shades made people stop and observe the image. even though the commercial had little text on it, human beings got the message that this product become new, amusing, and bold.

Of route, there are a diffusion of approaches to make your advertisement stand out. look around your place and write down descriptions of classified ads you see. What are the developments? Are they text heavy? Do they use similar hues? What forms of pictures are on the classified ads? when you start noticing trends, try and think about methods your commercial can cross against the ones tendencies and be some thing one-of-a-kind--some thing with a view to make humans prevent and appearance.

One word of caution: once you've made humans forestall and study your commercial, they want so one can understand what you are promoting. you can have the maximum 32012fd371b2d8bbf6e5e631dc96cdaf photo to your advertisement, but if it's far completely unrelated in your product or service, then viewers won't understand what you need them to buy. So, make sure that when you are selecting your photographs and textual content to your commercial, people will understand what you're trying to sell.

A well-designed commercial will even talk properly to audiences. with a view to parent out how to make your advertisement powerful, you need to perceive your audience. who are you seeking to target? young adults? The elderly? business humans? parents? There are an expansion of various audiences, and the greater in particular you could pick out the target market for your product, the higher danger you have got of designing an advert with a purpose to efficiently influence your target market.

for example, in case your audience consists of young teenage girls, you might select to use shiny and formidable colorations, but for business humans you can need to create an advertisement that makes use of extra professional blues and blacks (however don't be afraid to be a bit bolder if you're seeking to stand out).

The key is to think of the overall traits of your specific target market and try and mirror those tendencies for your advertisement. What do they cost? What do they fear? What motivates them? as soon as you've spoke back the ones questions, it should be simpler to come up with a few solid ideas for an advertising campaign.

as soon as you've advanced a few thoughts for 19e3b638485e90744b4ca28bb56e58cc advertisement and identified how you want to speak along with your unique target market, a few correct, solid design standards want to come into play. The commercial wishes to be legible. viewers shouldn't have to work to get what you are trying to mention. The advertisement wishes stability. One aspect should not experience heavier than the other. The advertisement ought to also make properly use of evaluation, repetition, color, and pattern. whilst those layout factors are implemented nicely into an advertisement, the result is a appropriate advert with the intention to enchantment aesthetically to viewers.

The above is just a quick evaluate of what advertisers must think about when designing an advert. you may see why many people find it beneficial to lease an advertising enterprise to help them develop thoughts and create powerful classified ads. And whether you are looking for a Seattle or a Miami advertising enterprise, you shouldn't have a hassle finding an business enterprise in your location that will help you create the right advertisement marketing campaign on your enterprise.

So, in case you're taking into account creating a new advert or advert marketing campaign on your employer, through following the above pointers and pointers, you may create the most impact classified ads as possible, convey the message you need to convey, and be one your manner to growing sales.

January 12, 2019 No Comments

Saturday, 22 December 2018

continually Use Headlines to seize Readers' Attentions


Headlines had been confirmed to seize a reader's attention. these are the first matters your possibilities are going to take a look at when they go to your website. Your headline serves as a mini commercial to provide your possibilities an concept of what your internet site is set in particular in relevance on your sales letter.

The 3 duties of a Headline

1. A Headline need to Announce Your products' biggest advantage
unless you appeal to the reader's attention right up the front you may anticipate your site visitors to prevent reading in about three seconds or much less. this is about all of the time your headline has to make a distinction. that is why your headline have to grab the reader's attention by simply declaring the most important gain someone gets from reading the rest of your sales letter right away.

2. A Headline should Be effective enough To lead them to need To examine more
Your headline should compel your prospect to maintain studying the relaxation of your income letter for your website. it is surely important to make a powerful assertion about your headline without freely giving a lot information that someone may not need to examine the relaxation of the message to examine extra.

three. A Headline must supply a whole Mini-sales Message
in case you think about it, you will see that your headline is certainly a standalone sales message. it's miles designed to promote someone on wanting to study the frame of the message. Readership studies display that 80% of your prospects will study simplest the headline earlier than finding out whether or not or now not they need to understand extra.

The hardest part of writing a headline is identifying what it's miles you want to mention.

saying the wrong things with the proper phrases suggest NO SALE!

You want to convey your point in as few phrases as viable (to be concise) and not worry if your excessive faculty english trainer could be grading your paper. Your aim is not to show the world what a skilled and eloquent creator you're. Your aim is to make the coins register ring! So don't start out specializing in "how" you are going to mention something, start off focusing on "what" it's miles you need to deliver to the readers.

constantly supply your headline the respect that it deserves. it's far the maximum critical component of your sales letter. it's far the one threat you have to grasp the eye of your target audience. if your headline fails to do its process nicely, the remaining quantities of the sales letter will by no means get their danger to polish.

so that it will write a effective headline, you have to step out of your footwear, and rather wear the shoes of your prospective client. you have to recognise which phrases will excite them and which of them will placed them off to sleep.

most significantly, you need to understand how to use those phrases to make it impossible for them not to want to read the the rest of the sales letter.

eight styles of Headlines you can Use:

1. the way to Headlines - human beings love to recognise the way to do things. Such headline always get people's attention. In reality, they may be in all likelihood the two most powerful words you may use in a headline.

2. secrets and techniques of Headlines - human beings continually want to know "insider secrets and techniques". we love to recognise matters that other human beings are not aware about. know-how is power and people who have it experience effective. maximum folks revel in an awesome mystery particularly in the long run when the "secret" is revealed.

3. caution Headlines - understand that human beings are encouraged by fear of dropping some thing extra than the promise of gain. The word "caution" needs interest and whilst blended with something of interest to the reader, is a very effective headline.

December 22, 2018 No Comments

Advertisers - learn how to Write better Headlines


in case you need people to shop for your products you have to advertise. alas, there may be no getting around that fact. like it or no longer, advertising and marketing is a important evil.

the important thing to print marketing is the right human beings seeing your ad and responding. however, your advert has a much greater hazard of succeeding in case your headline is powerful.

How vital is a strong headline? in case your headline is vulnerable, no one will study your advert and it'll fail. it is as easy as that.

"the father of marketing," mythical copywriter David Olgivy as soon as stated, "five instances as many humans study your headlines as do your real reproduction." whether or not he is right about the actual percentage is not essential. what's essential is that your headline is the primary aspect humans see, so you'd better get it proper.

So what precisely does getting it proper imply? What makes a good headline?

earlier than you can write an awesome headline, you first ought to apprehend what the process of a headline is. The primary task of a headline is to get the readers attention - duration. Now there are some of methods that you can do that. I for my part want to direct my headlines toward a specific target market. I locate that to be the handiest technique.

but, for this approach to work, you need to apprehend your goal market. you need to know your audience. Now being the owner of a advertising and marketing blog, I realize for a fact that advertisers are constantly inquisitive about writing better headlines. How do I understand this? market studies.

constantly, continually, constantly research your marketplace! That may be your facet over your opposition. anyway, lower back to the topic handy. My audience for this newsletter are advertisers inquisitive about mastering the way to write better headlines. So in my headline I centered on my target audience, "advertisers" and what my target audience desires, "to write down better headlines." hence the headline:

"Advertisers: learn how to Write better Headlines"

Now most effective checking out will tell for certain. but my revel in tells me it really is a robust headline and would achieve success.

Now I simplified the writing method here for the sake of brevity. however you'll more than in all likelihood have to write dozens of headlines for each of your commercials earlier than you provide you with something you like - something that is going to be powerful. it's all a part of the process.

For me personally, my excellent headlines are usually the ones that kind of just pop into my head. but normally talking, you're higher off writing a group of headlines, until you grow to be with your most powerful one.

So how will you decide that is your most powerful headline? show your headlines for your pals and family. Get their evaluations. additionally, in case you're a member of a small enterprise forum, display your headlines to discussion board participants to get their comments.

ready to peer me write every other headline? allow's do it. assume I owned a pet grooming shop. Now on the grounds that I already did my marketplace research, I recognize that maximum puppy owners like to pamper their pets. So i am certain that i would get a pet proprietors interest with a headline like this:

"puppy owners: we'll Pamper Your pet find it irresistible Belonged To Oprah!"

Now allow's talk the fundamentals for a 2nd. My audience for this advert are pet proprietors. So in my headline I targeted my target audience by using the phrases, "pet owners" and that i gave my target audience what they want with the aid of the usage of the word "pamper."

allow me give an explanation for what else I did. I used the name of a well-known movie star in my headline, which is usually assured to get interest. recollect what I said earlier. The number one job of a headline is to get the readers interest.

however I additionally did something else. I added emotion into the combination. In my headline, I advised readers that my puppy grooming shop might "deal with their pets like royalty!" And while I failed to use those actual words, the implication is there.

That headline has strong emotional appeal. in spite of everything, what loving pet owner does not need their puppy handled unique, right? with the aid of the way, emotional appeals are very effective in headlines. So use them as often as possible.

So are you beginning to apprehend this headline writing issue yet? nicely, permit's write one extra to make certain.

assume I owned a pizza save. once more, begin with the fundamentals. My goal for this ad is a popular target market. in any case, almost every body eats pizza. but regardless of that truth, i am still going to target my target audience by using the word, "pizza" in my headline

Now this one's a little trickier because pizza commercials are a dime a dozen. So I want to do something to make my headline distinct - to face out. i've decided to offer my headline immediate credibility through using a characteristic this is precise to my pizza shop. right here's the headline I came up with:

"Jackson's Pizza: Voted the town's nice Pizza For 10 straight Years!"

Do you understand what the reaction of the majority reading that headline might be?

"Wow...voted the metropolis's first-class pizza for 10 immediately years! It have to be good!"

This headline also has sturdy emotional enchantment. Why? due to the fact all people likes to be related to a winner. it is human nature.

Wrapping the whole thing up, i am going to summarize what it takes to write powerful headlines into five simple steps:

1. You should know and recognize your target audience. studies your marketplace!

2. goal your headline to that audience.

3. deliver your target audience what they need.

4. Your headline should get the readers interest. Be creative.

five. Use emotional enchantment every time feasible. once more, be creative.

December 22, 2018 No Comments

a way to Write Press release Headlines for the internet


Your headline takes approximately ten seconds to read. it is how lengthy it takes for someone to decide whether or now not they want to examine greater of what you've got to say, making your headline the most essential few words of your press release.

Did you know an article can be placed beneath a exceptional headline and get a distinct reaction from the equal reader?

In his article, "Headlines That Pull, convince and Propel," Michel Fortin says, "A headline is meant to do  critical things. First, it wishes to grab your reader's interest. it truly is the number one and most crucial activity of the headline. it is no longer meant to summarize a proposal or be a paragraph in and of itself. it is not meant to make a sale, either. 2nd, it wishes to drag readers into the replica and compel them to examine similarly. It ought to create curiosity and be interesting enough to pull the reader in. To hold the reader's interest, it ought to be sufficiently pithy (not always quick, however truthful) to do its job with the fewest phrases," Fortin says.

Headlines, which cannot be taken without any consideration, decide the likelihood that an editorial, story, letter, advertisement or paper might be study. Time and notion need to take delivery of to this important segment of your press release to assure the preferred effects of your efforts.  reasons I write press releases are 1) to marketplace my books and 2) to secure speakme engagements about my e book and services i would offer for a rate.

whether or not you're writing a press release or other form of message, a great vicinity to begin is with a few frequent industry headline writing policies. Make the headline sound personal, connecting emotionally on some stage with the reader. I do not mean a tearjerker. I mean, appeal to the majority's hobby in their non-public desires. A headline that appeals to this situation in readers will appeal to or target readers in a selected group. while concentrated on an audience, determine the trouble the target audience may be dealing with and provide an answer, which your headline may want to mirror.

'get rid of unwanted Facial Hair,' involves mind from a business I saw on television. Of path, this commercial failed to appeal to me due to the fact I have no unwanted facial hair (right...), however I may want to see how it'd goal an audience that can be plagued with the problem. Your message announcement, title or headline can supply the identical end result through asking a question, 'Do you have got unwanted Facial Hair.' In both cases, the reader is likely to read past your identify.

any other approach is to make the headline of a press release sound like a news object without exaggerating the electricity of the message. that would be taken into consideration deceptive or maybe erroneous. Readers do now not like to be misled or lied to. this can affect how readers accept what you need to document any more, costing you your credibility with them. human beings bear in mind when they have been deceived or suppose they were deceived. In response, they will dismiss your messages within the destiny.

try to make your headline as clear as viable. One self-imposed trouble some writers face is trying to be too clever, which comes off like an inside funny story that nobody receives. Use undeniable unadorned language to make certain as many readers as possible can recognize at a glance what your message is ready. Take precautions in opposition to complicated readers if you want them to read past the headline.

There are numerous sorts of headlines an author can use to target readers. a few offer readers a present or gain. that is the reason so many messages consist of the phrase 'loose' within the headline. Others can also mention a complementary offer to take part in an activity. Do not underestimate the value of words like 'sale' or 'cut price.' human beings are interested in articles that offer them time and money financial savings.

Many articles announce a self-development function that may be won by using studying the clicking launch. 'discover ways to Do something.' a success self-development headlines also can show a assure or testimonial, including 'lots Swear by means of anything.' ensures are more than just money back, but those can paintings, too. 'how to' articles should include 'how to' within the headline because humans need to be informed they will study a brand new ability, particularly in case you pressure that studying the project is simple, as in 'a way to learn some thing in five easy Steps.

without being too wordy, twelve phrases or less, headlines ought to in brief specific what your press release is about. maximum specialists agree that a headline must be short, correct and descriptive. This has been a time-venerated rule that dates again to the earliest newspapers inside the New England states of america in the 1700s. due to the fact that that time, newspapers have developed with the needs of the analyzing public and are presently going through a digital transformation as more publications go online. notice that some on-line press launch distribution offerings use individual depend in preference to word be counted.

One element has not modified in writing for newspapers, magazines and different guides. The headline still plays an critical role in enticing readers to read more. What has modified approximately the industry is the want to take note of the new technologic hints being superior in response to net writing requirements, that have expanded appreciably in variety. after I write a headline, I check it with the aid of typing it into the browser to peer if any other objects show up with the identical identify. Then I type in a few versions to test what comes up inside the seek. i can then tweak my headline.

Writing a good headline is a little like selecting a title for your e-book. when my writer, I wasn't thrilled before everything because I didn't recognize how a great deal the identify would goal the audience the publisher was looking for and what kind of the name could decorate book sales. not like writing headlines for my articles, i was too close to my ebook manuscript to hold my objectivity. My e-book editor explained that the title became intended to goal an audience with a sure hobby.

so as to attain maximum exposure in engines like google, which can be a response to browsers at the net, headlines have to contain keywords that illustrate the issue of your article and tell the browser the content material of your article or what your article is set. issue and content can also sound like the same factor however they may be now not. The difficulty is a large and trendy category of subjects and content is a selected abstracted description of your article. situation and content production requires the process of mentioning your assertion truely and to the factor so that search engines like google along with Google will locate your article. Use of key phrases inside the headline and throughout the clicking launch is essential to seo (search engine optimization). search engine optimization leads site visitors on your press releases, articles, blogs and web sites.

December 22, 2018 No Comments

Friday, 7 December 2018

Headlines for Dec. 7, 2018




Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines (WMMFH) for Dec. 7, 2018

Click here to listen to this week's segment on Loud & Clear Radio. 
Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted 11 minutes.
  
*Russia is trying to undermine Americans’ confidence in the justice system, security experts warn

Too late! The cops and the courts have already done that!
“In their quest to push disinformation, Russian trolls don’t advocate for one position over another but instead promote opposite arguments on the same subject, according to Rishikof. “They take both sides because the goal is to whip up controversy and discredit institutions,” he said.” This makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. How would a post *defending* the justice system serve to discredit it? And, by the way, this “analysis” relies on our old friend “Hamilton 68”, which admits that the accounts it tracks are not necessarily Russians at all!
And the usual suspects: “Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik  also “routinely produce content that alleges corruption, partisanship, and fundamental unfairness of the justice system.”” Right, because none of those things are actually true. This harkens right back to the Jan. 2017 DNI report citing RT’s coverage of Occupy and fracking etc., where they claimed, shockingly, that “RT framed the [Occupy] movement as a fight against "the ruling class" and described the current US political system as corrupt and dominated by corporations.” And that “RT ran numerous reports on alleged US election fraud and voting machine vulnerabilities.” Or that “the US two-party system does not represent the views of at least one-third of the population.” How dare they tell the truth about the US?
The article (from Sept. 17) on which the WaPo article is based:
*How Putin Works to Weaken Faith in the Rule of Law and Our Justice System
“Having long realized that the most effective disinformation is based on a kernel of truth, Moscow latches on to legitimate criticisms of the justice system. Shows like “America’s Lawyer” and the “Criminal Injustice” segment on Sputnik’s “Loud & Clear” often weave genuine concerns and viable grievances in with misleading narratives. Important causes are hijacked, making Kremlin-linked outlets appear to be the champions of justice reform in the United States while, in reality, their programming is designed to exacerbate grievances and weaken our institutions.”

*Trump administration gives Russia an ultimatum on Cold War-era arms treaty
Although it's just implied in the headline itself, the entire article is about supposed Russian violations of the INF. Not until the *27th paragraph* do we read “The Kremlin says it continues to adhere to the treaty.” And nowhere in the entire article is there any concrete evidence or even specific allegations about how Russia is in violation, just Pompeo’s assertions. Why is “27th paragraph” important? Because the paper I read, where I read this article first, the (San José) Mercury News, only has space for the first 11 paragraphs. So readers of that paper who didn’t seek out the original as I did (99% of readers) never saw the Russian denial. Of course that also goes for people who only read the first 26 (or fewer) paragraphs of the WaPo article, or people who watched the story reported on CNN or ABC or anywhere on TV, whose stories are basically the equivalent of the first 3 or 4 paragraphs of the WaPo article.

*Mattis says Putin tried to "muck around" in November's midterm elections
This article quotes Mattis as saying he hasn’t seen a smoking gun implicating MbS in the Khashoggi murder. But they give the headline to his claim about Russian (excuse me, Putin himself!) interference in the midterms, despite the fact that he doesn’t even cite a single piece of indirect evidence, much less a smoking gun.

Republicans in Wisconsin and Michigan, defeated in November, seek payback by limiting the powers of incoming Democrats
A curious use of the word "payback", which typically denotes revenge for a wrong that was done to the person. But the Democrats didn't "wrong" the Republicans, they simply beat them in the election, and if anyone did "wrong" them, it was the voters of Wisconsin and Michigan, not the incoming Democrats. A better and more accurate headline would be "Republicans seek to thwart the will of the voters".

*Inside the chaos and corruption of Tripoli, where militias rule the streets
Another headline (and article) sin of omission. Here’s the only reference to what led to this situation: “Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in the Arab spring revolution.” There’s a long subhead under the headline, but it too omits any mention of the US/NATO assault on Libya.

López Obrador promised a lot. Now he’s starting to deliver, and that’s making some Mexicans anxious.
Who exactly? Mansion open to the public. Presidential jet being sold. I doubt anyone is “anxious” about those things. Ayotzinapa Truth Commission? I guess the guilty people are anxious about that. Bureaucrats whose salaries have been cut. Almost 3,000 public employees have filed class-action lawsuits against the government over a law mandating that no bureaucrat can earn more than the president. Because López Obrador set his salary at 108 thousand pesos per month (about $5,250), less than half of his predecessor’s salary, the pay of other public servants also has plummeted.And what about the people who voted for him and presumably are happy that he’s doing what he said he would do? No mention of them in the headline or in the article.

December 07, 2018 No Comments

Friday, 30 November 2018

Headlines for Nov. 30, 2018



Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines (WMMFH) for Nov. 30, 2018

Click here to listen to this week's segment on Loud & Clear Radio. 
Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted 11 minutes.



CANDIDATES FOR “WORST”/”MOST DISGUSTING”:

*Video Fact Check: 8 Putin Claims Regarding the Kerch Strait Incident
First, what is "Polygraph"? "Polygraph.info is a fact-checking website produced by Voice of America (VOA)​ and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty." In other words, it's the propaganda arm of the U.S. government. But it shows up in the Google News “Fact Check” column, which is how I found it. So Google is allowing the U.S. government to “fact check” the news. It was bad enough when they enlisted the right-wing Weekly Standard as one of their handful of approved fact-checkers. But now the U.S. government?
Samples of their "fact-checking", which read like a State Dept. press conference:
PUTIN: “In regards to the incident in the Black Sea – that, without a doubt, was a provocation.”
TRUE: This may be true, but if so, it was a Russian provocation, not a Ukrainian one.
That is a judgment, not a "fact".
PUTIN: “…in 2014 when Crimea decided to join Russia...”
FALSE: The Crimea didn’t “decide to join Russia.” The Russian military took the peninsula in unmarked uniforms and the part of the region “voted” under Russian occupation.
Why is "voted" in quotes? There was a plebescite, with an 83% voter turnout, and 97% voting to join Russia. Anyone opposed needed only to not vote (17%) or cast an invalid vote (<1 span="">
PUTIN: “The hard events of a civil war in Ukraine in the south-east in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
FALSE: There is no civil war in those regions, but rather a Russian invasion and occupation.
That's just ridiculous. Of course there's a civil war.

CANDIDATES FOR “MOST MISLEADING”:

*40 million people with diabetes will be left without insulin by 2030, study predicts
The article’s lead: there are more and more people with diabetes worldwide. But the problem, which emerges in the penultimate paragraph, is the usual — profit. Studies (not mentioned in this article) say that 1 in 4 patients in the US are forced to ration insulin because of its cost, and some die as a result.

Trump demands action to reduce deficit, pushes new deficit spending
After a brief reference to "the GOP tax cut" in the 10th paragraph, the article doesn't get back to really discussing tax cuts and the bogus claims accompanying them (e.g., "the tax cuts will pay for themselves by producing a massive jump in economic growth") until the 27th paragraph. Why do I often emphasize which paragraph something appears in? Not just because everyone doesn’t read the whole article. But because in the Mercury News, which runs many WaPo articles, only the first 8 paragraphs appear.
Numbers: deficit increase from previous year was $113B; loss of revenues from tax cut was $202B.

*Manafort held secret talks with Assange in Ecuadorian embassy
An hour after this story was published, following WikiLeaks tweeting denials that such a meeting had taken place, the headline was changed to read "Manafort held secret talks with Assange in Ecuadorian embassy, sources say" (differences are seen in this link: https://www.newssniffer.co.uk/articles/1706143/diff/0/1 )
And of course the headline is deliberately sensationalized in the first place; ALL talks with Assange in the embassy are by definition "secret", obviously they aren't broadcast publicly nor are reporters present.
Tech tip: if you manage a website, and you update the headline on a story, it *is* possible to change the thumbnail that shows up on FB or Twitter (see below for details). But The Guardian hasn’t bothered. That means if anyone posts this story, their friends or followers will see the *original* headline, the one which presents the story as fact.

MTA Says Fare-Beaters Partially to Blame for Impending Fare Hikes
MTA alleges (not really sure how they could prove this) that fare-beaters cost the system $1 million/week, or $52M/year. The MTA's operating budget is $16B, or which $6.3B comes from fares, so the loss from fare-beaters is less than 1% of the fare income, and 3/10th of one percent of the total budget. In contrast, a New York Times report (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/nyregion/new-york-subway-system-failure-delays.html ) found that politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties, at the mayoral and gubernatorial levels, had gradually removed $1.5 billion of MTA funding. And because of that underfunding, the MTA has had to borrow, and now nearly 17 percent of its budget now goes to pay down debt. Compare that to the 3/10th of a percent attributed to fare evasion.

A Clear Link Between Trump and Russia Is Now Out in the Open
Really? Cohen talked to Putin's press secretary about a meeting with Putin about a Moscow Trump Tower. The meeting never happened, nor did any deal. So when the headline refers to a "clear link", I guess they mean a link that is transparent, i.e., there's nothing there.

CANDIDATES FOR “FUNNIEST”:

Washington Post admits gaffe after putting story on Kavanaugh coaching basketball in ‘Public Safety’ section
Karma? Or a deliberate act by a WaPo staffer?


November 30, 2018 No Comments

Friday, 23 November 2018

Headlines for Nov. 23, 2018


Click here to listen to this week's segment on Loud & Clear Radio. 
Headlines with an * are the ones we managed to fit in in our allotted 11 minutes.

Worst, Most Misleading & Funniest Headlines (WMMFH) for Nov. 23, 2018


CANDIDATES FOR “WORST”/”MOST DISGUSTING”:
*Black Friday is the official start of the holiday shopping season. We’ll be covering it all here.
Did I miss something? Is this now a national holiday? When did “Black Friday”, or “Small Business Saturday”, or “Cyber Monday” or any of the other days invented by business marketing people take on “official” status? I guess we can call them religious holidays of the official state religion, capitalism. And on top of everything, the headline isn’t even true, as this headline from Business Insider shows: “Black Friday deals sold out at stores like Walmart and Target before Friday even began — and people are furious”.

Syria civil war: US-led air strikes kill at least 40 people in Islamic State-held area, state media reports
How is it a “civil war” if the US is bombing and killing Syrian civilians (17 children and 12 women in this one attack) and alleged IS fighters (many of whom are non-Syrians)?

U.S. and Brazil Chose Similar Leaders. It May Lead to Smoother Relations.
The silver lining of electing quasi-fascists.

Hillary Clinton: Europe Needs Tougher Immigration Laws To Stave Off Nationalism
So we need more nationalism to combat nationalism. Great idea, Hillary!

CANDIDATES FOR “MOST MISLEADING”:

*The Khashoggi case just won't go away for Trump and his Saudi allies
Typical “Trump derangement syndrome”. The same Saudis were allies of Obama, Bush, Clinton, the first Bush, etc, not to mention the rest of the establishment. They are hardly uniquely Trump’s allies.

*Study shows 60% of Britons believe in conspiracy theories
Somethings are actual conspiracy theories, eg, “31% of leave voters believed that Muslim immigration was part of a wider plot to make Muslims the majority in Britain.” But “The most widespread conspiracy belief in the UK, shared by 44% of people, was that “even though we live in what’s called a democracy, a few people will always run things in this country anyway”.” So recognizing that you live in an oligarchy is now a “conspiracy theory”. Further proof we're addicted to conspiracies, says pollsters and the Guardian: 77% of the public don't trust journalists, 76% are wary of politicians and 74% think corporate bosses may not always tell the truth.

*Thousands of U.S. troops celebrate Thanksgiving at the Mexican border
This is nothing more than a DoD press release, with an addition of charges of the deployment being a political stunt added in the 12th paragraph. Are the troops really celebrating, or are they unhappy? We’ll never know (although we can take a good guess!), because the only people quoted in the article are a General and an Army spokesperson.

One of Syria’s most famous activists killed by assassins in rebel stronghold
Since “activists” is usually used in the media to describe opponents of the Syrian government, it’s easy to assume he was killed by the government. He wasn’t, he was killed by Al Qaeda terrorists who control Idlib. “Terrorists”, by the way, is a word the article doesn’t use, even though it references Al Qaeda. It just calls them “extremists”.

85,000 children have starved to death during the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, says new report
Not until the 15th paragraph does the reader learn about the US role is this genocide, although the reputed (and never proven) Iranian support for the Houthis makes it into the 10th paragraph, with zero questioning of that claim. And the US participation in the blockade, which is a major cause of the famine, is never mentioned at all.

CANDIDATES FOR “FUNNIEST”:

*Is Masha and the Bear a Putin stooge? Critics claim cartoon with 4.18m subscribers is made by Kremlin to subvert children
Times UK headline: Children’s show is propaganda for Putin, say critics
Only 2 critics are actually quoted—a lecturer at Tallinn University's Communication School who claims that the bear symbolises Russia and was designed to place a positive image of the country in children's minds. The lecturer, Priit Hobemagi, said that the series was a 'beautifully presented' part of a campaign that is dangerous for Estonian national security. Also an intelligence expert from The University of Buckingham told The Times: 'Masha is feisty, even rather nasty, but also plucky. She punches above her weight. It's not far-fetched to see her as Putinesque.' Last line in the article: The show receives no state funding.


November 23, 2018 No Comments

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