# Journalist types: Is this poor editing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802 "2015-05-25T16:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/1 "2015-05-25T16:05:08Z")
For some reason, this really struck me today. It’s a Front Page headline in the San Jose Mercury News: **Biggest mammals on path to extinction** The word “Biggest” seems like vocabulary a 10-year-old would use. I’m thinking it should be: **Largest mammals on path to extinction** Just to be clear, I’ve reproduced the original headline exactly as written, so it’s not the case they there isn’t enough room for “Largest”, which has the same letter count as “Biggest” anyway. If you work in journalism, would you expect an editor to spot that and correct it, or is it just fine as is? The column width of the article is 2 1/4", and the headline is a font size that just spans that width (although the first line, with just one word, is narrower). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/2 "2015-05-25T16:17:44Z")
What’s wrong with biggest? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/3 "2015-05-25T16:22:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s wrong with biggest? It’s hard to say. It just feels wrong to me. Not wrong in the sense of “inaccurate”, but wrong in the sense of “too informal” or, like I said in the OP, the vocabulary a child would use, not an adult. And yes, I know headlines are often purposely informal, but this doesn’t fit that bill. It just seems like poor wording, and something an editor should correct. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/4 "2015-05-25T16:46:24Z")
Former writer/editor here. If I were writing it, I’d probably go with “largest,” but if I were editing someone else’s work, I don’t think I’d bother with changing “biggest.” Really, in the context of mammals, I don’t see a difference between the two words. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/5 "2015-05-25T16:50:57Z")
Yeah, it’s not a change I’d expect to be made, either. “Largest” does sound slightly more formal than “biggest” in this headline, but there’s nothing wrong with the word and it’s not an error or anything that need be corrected. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/6 "2015-05-25T17:20:45Z")
My initial reaction was also that “biggest” sounded like “vocabulary a child would use.” But on reflection, I wondered if “big” were better, emphasizing physical size, while “large” is often applied to abstractions. (However dictionaries do not seem to confirm any such connotative difference between ‘large’ and ‘big.’) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/7 "2015-05-25T17:25:38Z")
Why is formal vocabulary better than 10-year-old vocabulary in a newspaper headline? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/8 "2015-05-25T17:42:21Z")
If this was the title of an article in Scientific American I’d expect “largest”. In an article in a US newspaper written for an 8th grade reading level I’d expect to see “biggest”. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/9 "2015-05-25T17:57:20Z")
Seems to me that if we are describing the relative areal or volumetric size of something, either “biggest” or “largest” is perfectly fine. But if we were describing something in terms of its quantity, then “largest” works better. As in “Largest Population on Path to Extinction” vs. “Biggest Population on Path to Extinction.” ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/10 "2015-05-25T18:36:27Z")
Unit counts (capitals at 2, i and t at 1/2, all others at 1 — except w and m at 1 1/2 or 2, depending on the type face — has “Biggest” a half-unit smaller, at 7, than “Largest,” at 7 1/2. But in these days of rubber type, unit count probably isn’t the case (heh), unless the newspaper disallows extra kerning, type squeezing and point-size shrinking by adhering to the old hot-metal-type sizes. But the head is flat-out wrong. “Largest” or “Biggest” would be one animal, the whale. It should be “Big” or “Large,” unless the story was about whales in particular. If that were the case, though, the head should say “Whales.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/11 "2015-05-25T18:50:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If this was the title of an article in Scientific American I’d expect “largest”. > > In an article in a US newspaper written for an 8th grade reading level I’d expect to see “biggest”. That’s interesting. What do large city newspapers use as their standard? Do they figure they should not write anything an 8th grader wouldn’t understand? > [@Kenm](#): > > But the head is flat-out wrong. “Largest” or “Biggest” would be one animal, the whale. It should be “Big” or “Large,” unless the story was about whales in particular. If that were the case, though, the head should say “Whales.” I hadn’t even thought of that! Anyway, thanks for the interesting input. I wasn’t really interested in debating the subject, just getting input from folks who are actually in the business (which I am not). I see this from time to time and often wonder what’s going on. This time I figured I’d ask. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/12 "2015-05-25T19:27:49Z")
**Maximally Dimensioned Fauna on Tra- jectory to Extinction** ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/13 "2015-05-25T19:49:10Z")
Bigger beasts bungle boinking ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/14 "2015-05-25T20:02:32Z")
I work as a page designer, and I don’t have any special issues with the headline as written. If I had the time, I would probably see if I could fill out that first line a little better, because filling out every line is kind of my thing, but if a solution did not occur to me fairly quickly, I would move on and not feel particularly bad about it. There’s too much work and not enough time in which to do it these days to indulge in a great deal of hair-splitting. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/15 "2015-05-25T20:21:59Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > There’s too much work and not enough time in which to do it these days to indulge in a great deal of hair-splitting. Does page designer include headline writer? It depends on where the head writer/copy editor draws the line and whether the publication is considered a rag or presents itself as embracing accuracy. That headline in the Mercury News is wrong. Full stop. All it needed, at the very least, was Biggest changed to Bigger. Increasingly, however, journalism in general is in a downward spiral, and increasingly it doesn’t matter, because those who know the difference are in the same boat as large mammals. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/16 "2015-05-25T20:56:45Z")
I’m acquainted with a very smart 17-year-old girl who, in addition to doing the work necessary to maintain a 3.8 grade average, writes for her school newspaper. The teacher who oversees this publication recently instructed her to remove the word “exquisite” from an article she wrote, because “no one” would know what it means. :rolleyes: She was told to use ‘great’ instead. I suppose it’s a good thing she wasn’t told to use “awesome”, but I have little doubt the time is coming. The moral of this story is that given the state of education these days, most publications are aimed at a readership level one would expect of a 10-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/17 "2015-05-25T21:28:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > The moral of this story is that given the state of education these days, most publications are aimed at a readership level one would expect of a 10-year-old. It’s worrisome, because of the dumbing-down repercussions, including a growing semi-literate, ignorant citizenry who can’t spell critical thinking and don’t know what it means anyway. Then they vote, if they can be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/18 "2015-05-25T22:19:24Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Does page designer include headline writer? > > It depends on where the head writer/copy editor draws the line and whether the publication is considered a rag or presents itself as embracing accuracy. > > That headline in the Mercury News is wrong. Full stop. All it needed, at the very least, was Biggest changed to Bigger. > > Increasingly, however, journalism in general is in a downward spiral, and increasingly it doesn’t matter, because those who know the difference are in the same boat as large mammals. Yes, page designers write the headlines. As for your objection to this one, well, I read it to mean “animals that are among the biggest in the world are on a path to extinction.” You’ve chosen a reading – “only members of the one specific order of animals that grow larger than any other in the world” – that I’d call needlessly narrow. That’s your choice, I guess. But headlines are meant to paint a fairly good word picture of the story and convince readers to go down and read it, not be grammatically correct sentences in and of themselves. Frankly, this is kind of like looking at a street sign that says “ONE WAY” and complaining that it doesn’t have a verb or a period at the end. It’s a street sign, not a formal document. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/19 "2015-05-25T22:36:52Z")
A headline should be accurate. It should leave no room for misunderstanding or interpretation (unless it’s over a light-hearted story and is, for instance, a double-entendre). Neither should it be misspelled. It should be grammatically correct, and it should include the proper apostrophes and hyphens, all the while fitting the hole. You’re illustrating my point that professional journalism is a sinking ship. > [@](#): > > You’ve chosen a reading – “only members of the one specific order of animals that grow larger than any other in the world” – that I’d call needlessly narrow. OK. It doesn’t matter, because [**everyone knows what it means**](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3095041/Porsche-911-owner-distraught-gets-100-000-motor-garage-renamed-PORSHCE.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802/20 "2015-05-25T22:45:50Z")
Professional writer here. Nothing is to be gained, in my opinion, by switching to “largest.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/journalist-types-is-this-poor-editing/720802.md?page=2)