News headlines are not helpful

I remember when I was just out of college, doing some freelance writing, and toying with the idea that I might want to be a journalist. The idea that journalism had an ethical and professional obligation to be as dispassionate and objective as possible. I participated in more than one fiery discussion about whether and how that might be possible but I also believed that it was an important question. Casting aspersion at the media is popular these days and, in many cases, deserved. I am particularly frustrated by the increasing lack of distance from the story in the written and visual press. Newscasters and headline writers in particular seem driven to prove their cleverness in crafting what they say and the results can have great impact. News headlines on the radio this morning talked about how Barack Obama now had a "double digit" lead over Hillary Clinton is the impending New Hampshire primary. Double digit rolls off the tongue nicely but its inexactitude is harmful. It could describe anything from a ten point to ninety-nine point span. In a time-starved world where people don't go much beyond the headline, that's a problem. Later today I read the Yahoo feeder and saw a headline reading, "Fading in polls, teary-eyed Clinton vows to fight on". The picture drawn is technically accurate or at least defensible, but not evenhanded. It is plumped with an undertone of sensationalism. I was astonished enough by the idea that steely Hilary Clinton was teary-eyed to go look at the video. I thought the snippet showed a more genuine and committed Clinton than I'd ever seen before. I could identify with how deeply she felt the emotion. She didn't sound like a woman who was teary-eyed because she was fading in the polls.
Examples abound, not just those involving presidential campaigns. Behind it all, I am left with a feeling that "the Press" our Fourth Estate essential to democracy, has abandoned their work to posers who know the form but not the substance of the job. Sad that.