Spinning, spinning, spinning

So, my little community is making a big splash in the news. You've probably already seen it if you're on the West Coast. Yesterday, a 75-year-old man went a bit bonkers because of bloodwork that needed to be done for labs, then went and got his shotgun, and THEN went and tried to rearrange parts of the medical office with said shotgun. When he turned his gun in the direction of the police, they did what was necessary and shot him. Dead.

And what, praytell, are the headlines saying?

"Elderly Man Gunned Down by Highway Patrol Officer"

Bullshit. Man, this whole "if it bleeds, it leads" shit is exactly why I got out of the newspaper/media business. I mean, I had a tough time sometimes coming up with headlines for some articles. Really, what kind of a headline can you come up with that is tactful when a man is arrested for having marital relations with his favorite dog? It's hard. Trust me. BTDT. Have the t-shirt.

But leading with a headline with the words "gunned down" gives you all sorts of wild impressions that are vastly misleading. This wasn't an elderly man going about his business. He had terrorized an office of people, slammed one employee in the head with the butt of his shotgun, lit off a few rounds wildly, and was now pointing said shotgun at police officers and wouldn't put it down. What other option do the police have? We don't have those lovely non-lethal shotguns that more metropolitan areas have. All our guys have is their baton, an Asp if they're lucky, pepper spray and their gun. And three out of those four don't work against a ranged weapon, folks.

It's been a sad day for us as a community. A man who was loved had a fit of insanity and was killed as a result of his actions. Another man, just as loved, had to make the decision to fire his weapon in the line of duty to save the lives of others. A no-win situation for all involved. Why don't the headlines show this?

Gah. I should quit spewing about this, but my coworkers are tired of my raving mania over this by now I'm sure. But enough with the sensationalism already, people! How about Elderly Man Shot After Rampage, Standoff? That more effectively conveys what happened, and actually fits better into the space you have for the headline. But it's not as catchy, now, is it?

And people wonder why the media isn't trusted. Feh.