X2/SUPERMAN RETURNS Writer Pens Fox’s WOLF Meets SEX AND THE CITY Pilot BITCHES!!
It seems like a nearly random collection of nouns. Has anyone encountered a worse headline than this (not limited to entertainment news, of course)?
Wow, that almost seems like something straight out of Variety, except none of the words are made up.
It’s on that moronic “Ain’t it Cool News” site, so I’m not surprised.
Not only is the phrasing awkward (especially given the lack of punctuation), but the headline uses one of the entertainment-related phrases I really despise: “It’s x meets y.”
Not as bad as:
’CARING’ RAPIST WORE CONDOM
Classic NYPost headlines:
MAN SAVED BY ‘HERO’ SANDWICH (During an armed robbery, a gunman shot a bullet at a customer, who flinched and held his only protection - the hero sandwich he was ordering for lunch - to his face, which deflected the bullet!)
HEADLESS BODY FOUND IN TOPLESS BAR (self-explanatory.)
IKE ‘BEATS’ TINA TO DEATH (Ran after Ike Turner died.)
Right after 9/11, the local paper had a story on the Islamic religion:
Muslims Prey on Friday
I mentioned this front page headline from the San Mateo Daily News recently in a thread about racial slurs:
MENACING COON SPOOKS MAN
Wow. In terms of readability, that is the worst one I have ever read. I had to reread the headline at least ten times, and then read through the story before I could parse that monstrosity.
The “Fox’s WOLF meets SEX AND THE CITY PILOT” is hopelessly unclear. I had to read it about six times before I figured out what the writer wanted it to mean. The rest of the headline is almost in “so bad it’s good” territory, with the ending “BITCHES!” making it sound like the author is incredibly excited this screenwriter has written a pilot combining Wolf and Sex and the City.
Wow. That’s … really badly written. And on the 'net, it’s not like you have to compress headlines that badly to fit into a given space, either.
reads story
You know what? I think the premise of this show is worse than the headline announcing it.
I’m not sure that this doesn’t take the cake.
Some years ago I read a novel about tabloid journalism entitled ALIEN RAPES NUN; FLEES IN UFO.
If anyone knows the name of author I would like to re-read it.
There was a story in the Washington Post a few years ago about a gay guy in Northern Virginia who was denied a zoning board permit to open a massage parlor in his home. It caused some controversy, because he claimed, and the zoning board denied, that their decision was made due to homophobia.
The original Washington Post headline? “Gay Masseur Divides Manassas”
My favorite groaner of a headline is “Double Hand Transplant Recipient Applauds Surgery.”. Somewhere there is a former newspaper intern who will never again reach such a level of greatness.