Beyond the Headline: Read What Matters!

What does it mean to read beyond the headline? The headline does not contain the complete truth as many assume. The fact is If there are clues whether an article is fake or not, there are going to be more of them in the body of the content, not the title. Therefore, reading beyond the headline and making an informed decision becomes pertinent.

In 2019, a Columbia University study showed that almost 60% of people share stories on social media without ever reading past the headline.

It has been proved that one way that falsehood gets amplified is that busy readers do not look past the headline or even the opening paragraph before they decide to share an article. Most times, fake news publishers exploit this tendency, writing the beginning of a story straightforwardly before filling in the rest with obviously false information.

In 2020, Twitter experimented with encouraging its users to read the full content of an article before retweeting it: the recommendation was introduced as part of selective tests in May 2020, and four months later, the results indicated that users opened pieces before sharing them 40% more often than they did without the prompt, although it’s impossible to know how fully they read the content before taking the step to share it with their followers.

Marie Ennis-O’Connor said that headlines often mislead people into thinking a specific substance or activity will prevent or cure chronic disease. In her science reporting news article, she reiterates that patient advocates must learn to read beyond the headlines to filter out the good, the bad, and the questionable.

What would make you read past a headline?

Mr. Patrick Egwu, an investigative reporter at Daily Maverick, explains that how important or topical the topic is will determine if he will read past the headline or not. He says that going past the headline reveals other vital details are there in the story. According to Egwu, some readers make conclusions based on taking a glance at a news headline. While sometimes a headline gives the idea of what the content is about, it is also deceptive in some cases, especially with newspapers with sensational headlines which seek to attract readership while the content is different. Therefore, going past the headline helps a reader to understand contexts and other background details in a story.

Pat Polomchak of Pirate Media argues that it is worth the time to read the whole thing before formulating an opinion, not just the headline. Not only can one better form an argument by having all the information, but it can allow for more civil discourse to occur rather than outright fighting.

Why does it matter to read beyond the headline?

News is one of the essential things in most people’s lives. No matter what you do for a living, chances are you’re engaged with the news at some level daily. On most days of the week, something happens on a local, regional, national or global scale that merits headline coverage. For many people, the first question that comes to mind each morning is, “What are the latest news headlines?”

The headline is the single most crucial factor when creating great content because it determines whether or not the target audience will read the article. A headline is the only impression you can make on an Internet surfer that can turn them into potential readers.

According to clickgiant.com, with the amount of content being pumped out onto the web, the average Internet surfer will read 80% of headlines, but only 20% of those surfers will read the article. Therefore, you should spend just as much time crafting a solid, strategic headline as you do on the content within the piece.

Reading past the headline helps to make an informed decision and logical, emotional reaction. Research has shown that When people are angry or upset, people tend to react without thinking. One could read a headline that makes them outraged; chances are they’ll respond (share, comment, retweet) without examining the article too closely. Emily Lai says that Our brains are hard-wired to always look for patterns and narratives in the world around us, mainly when those patterns or stories confirm a belief we already hold.

Heidi Skolnik Believes that in today’s world of social media and sensationalized messages, reading past the headline is the only way to recognize evidence-based information vs. myths and misinformation. She opines that being an educated consumer starts with media literacy.

Mitchell’s New York, AM News outlines the benefits of reading beyond the headlines: Critical Thinking Skills – Reading past the headline provides more than just coverage. It also offers insights that help readers form opinions on a range of topics. In many ways, it is a good thing because issues are often vague and abstract to readers from the headline alone. This is because there are details in the background found beyond the headline.

Balanced Viewpoints

It explores a balanced perspective on stories and issues. While many readers have biases, a responsible news writer will tailor coverage in a way that presents news stories from all angles so each reader can draw their conclusion.

Enhanced Cognition

As people age, one of the most significant advantages of reading is the positive effects on mental health. In a sense, the mind is like most other parts of the body. The less it’s exercised, the weaker and less flexible it becomes. Just like how sedentary people are more prone to develop physical limitations, people who don’t put their minds to use are likelier to become stunted in their cognitive abilities.

Sources:

Dans, E (2020, Sep 27) Twitter: Reading Beyond The Headlines https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2020/09/27/twitter-reading-beyond-the-headlines/?sh=365a09e94a91

Skolnik, H (2020, October 16) Media Literacy: The Importance of Reading Past the Headlines https://www.americandairy.com/news-and-events/dairy-diary/dietitian-blog/media-literacy-the-importance-of-reading-past-the-headlines.stml

Ennis-O’Connor, M (2016, August 23) How to Read Beyond the Headline: 9 Essential Questions to Evaluate Medical News https://powerfulpatients.org/2016/08/23/how-to-read-beyond-the-headline-9-essential-questions-to-evaluate-medical-news/

Thorne, ER (2019, May 7) We need to start reading past the headline, but not for the reasons you think https://emilyrosethorne.medium.com/we-need-to-start-reading-past-the-headline-but-not-for-the-reasons-you-think-fc64ec53f77b

Mitchell’s NY (2021) Why it is Important to Read the Newspaper https://www.mitchellsny.com/blog/why-it-is-important-to-read-the-newspaper/

Click Giant (2021) The Importance of Headlines https://clickgiant.com/blog/importance-of-headlines/

Polomchak, P (Feb 24, 2020, Updated May 12, 2020) Reading past headlines essential on social media http://www.piratemedia1.com/opinion/article_8f596f9a-575b-11ea-82a1-b7c7df684f98.html

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