A reader felt compelled to call today to complain about the headline above a story explaining efforts to curb crime outside Groover's Market north of Palmetto. The headline on 1A of our Bradenton edition:
Targeting Groover's crime
The Groover family, said the caller, is a respected family that has lived in Manatee County for many years. But to read the headline, "for what it is, makes the Groover family look like they're the criminals,'' said the caller. He added that a neighbor of his in Parrish stopped by to voice a similar complaint.
Agreed. Neither the family — nor the market itself, which was sold recently to Tampa businessman Chetan Shah — is the culprit here. It is the crime and loitering outside the market that are being addressed by local officials. It would have been easy to write a more concise headline, and we have changed it at Bradenton.com.
Now, a suggestion for Mr. Shah from myself and the reader: If you're hoping to change the reputation of your new market, why not start by changing the name? "That's exactly what I thought,'' agreed the caller.
Jim
Friday, March 7, 2008
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4 comments:
"Groover's headline was misleading"
Um, so is that one. It wasn't Groover's headline that was misleading. It was the Bradenton Herald's headline that was misleading.
I'm just sayin' ...
Boy, do I agree on the headline problem. Your headlines sensationalize many stories. Some bear very little resemblence to the story and in the case of govt having to do with less make it feel like programs will end and doom will happen based on those headlines. You really do need to correct that. You are starting to look like the Star tabloid.
Its about time some one is doing something about groover's i have grown up in palmetto all my life and i allways was scared walking buy that store on my way to school but that was years ago its great now there doing something to stop the crimes that go on there considering its so clos to a schools, daycares, and churches but i dont think there was anything wrong with the headlines.
the original headline was valid and appropriate. for three words, it conveyed an action, a direct object, and the area where that action was to occur. groover's market, while not the culprit, was certainly an enabler to the criminal element in the area. a strictly enforced no loitering policy would have been the responsible thing to do, as a community business. as responsible members of the community, we must all take responsibility for cleaning up the trash around us, and for spreading good. if you own a store that is a blight in the community, you do bear responsibility to change that. when i read the headline, i knew immediately what the article was about, and i imagine so did everyone else who knows groovers.
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