The Importance of a Title.

Late this evening, just as I was finishing off my day, I checked The New York Times’ site – as I do every hour or two. This headline: “A Dogged Advocate of Wartime Authority” grabbed me and threw me into a rage – for two reasons, the second of which was that I knew it meant it was no longer time for bed.

The primary reason the six-word headline, “A Dogged Advocate of Wartime Authority,” threw me into a rage was that those six words branded Alberto Gonzales as a force, a man with a plan, a hero, and granted him an almost-posthumous deference that was neither deserved nor accurate. “A Dogged Advocate of Wartime Authority” meant that the attorney general, who had resigned just twelve hours prior to the Times’ article being published online, was already being intellectualized, his deceitful actions – and lack of action, already becoming the seeds of – god forbid – something that historians might later call “The Gonzales Doctrine.” Images of Keanu Reeves’ “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” – with Gonzales as Bill S. Preston, Esq., were flowing through my mind and becoming the script for another rewriting of history.

I read the three-page article through, went back to the first page, and noticed a change: “Attorney General Held Firm on War Policies.” The title had been changed. “Attorney General Held Firm on War Policies” sufficiently summed-up Mr. Gonzales’ legacy. His resignation, and The Times’ quick editing, were all I needed to retire.

Tags: News, Newspaper, NY Times, Editing, The New York Times