When a headline misrepresents or sensationalizing by the press

The power of the press has long been known. People who have religiously read newspapers can tell you how powerful the printed word is. Having been employed by a newspaper for over 35 years, I also came to realize how the press could be used to further your cause. You just have to find a like-minded editor and you are in.

Several years ago, I was lucky enough to attend the HSUS conference in Orlando and did several articles for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which was my employer at the time. I was also writing a blog for them called "Chew On This." One of the articles I wrote concerned the disparagement of pitbulls and how through the history of the breed, newspapers had maligned them using different techniques and words. Editors and writers are adept at doing that. I know, I worked with several of them. A placed comma can changed the whole meaning of a sentence.

So when I read the headline on this story, I thought to myself, "Wow, some state is getting tough finally. Some state is actually sending people to prison to animal abuse." Then I read the story. You can check it out here.

The headline in five articles in different areas of the country all used the headline: Man sentenced to prison for shooting at neighbor's dog. The truth is, he did shoot at the dog but he went in the house and pointed the gun at a little girl. That is why he went to prison. So the headline is not correct, but more people will read the story with this headline. So make sure when you are reading headlines, you check out the whole story first, before you make a judgement like I did with this story.