A Tale of Two Headlines

headline
June 11, 2015
oopsy
July 9, 2015

Well, it took a month, but the Times Union finally figured out what other media outlets were reporting from practically day one: that the Dannemora escape was far from the first.

In today’s front page item, the paper blames Governor Cuomo for spreading the “first escape” story; one has to wonder who Cuomo is blaming.

Paul Grondahl writes, “Cuomo’s comments were picked up and repeated, including by local residents.” Yes it was picked up and repeated. Please refer to the photo at the top of this blog post.

Anyway, this makes it all OK:

The Matt and Sweat imbroglio, however, did not eclipse the level of subterfuge in the escape of George Leggins of Coxsackie, who broke away on July 31, 1915, from a farm outside Dannemora’s walls.

Anyone who can use imbroglio and subterfuge in the same sentence gets an A+ in my book.

4 thoughts on “A Tale of Two Headlines

  1. I like how they forget to mention that they were among the news outlets duped by the 150 year talking point. It’s completely dishonest, but I guess that’s what we should expect. I’m only surprised that the term “ink-stained wretch” did not somehow make it into the copy.

  2. I don’t think thesaurus worthy words used by supposed ace reporters will help Rex Smith’s ambition to sit on the New York Times editorial board.

    1. Probably not — in fact, allowing those two words to appear in the same sentence tells me that you don’t have anybody steering the ship. I’m not suggesting that everything be dumbed down, but give me a fu*king break. Buy that man a copy of Strunk and White and give him a swift kick in the ass for his pretentious BS.

  3. “Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able.”

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