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The NYT changes a headline.


ADDED: I'm not sure I understand the headline "Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism." I see 2 interpretations.

One would be clearly expressed if the "vs." were translated into English and written as the word "against." (Many judges and law professors say the names of cases with the "v." changed to the word "against.")  If it's "Trump Urges Unity Against Racism," then Trump's idea is that we should unite to oppose racism. That's respectful and supportive toward Trump.

But because I expect hostility toward Trump, I'm not sure the headline doesn't mean that Trump is urging 2 ideas — unity and racism — and these ideas are in conflict with each other.

To use parenthesis as in a math equation: Trump Urges (Unity vs. Racism).

That is, unity is in an endless struggle with racism, and Trump pushes this struggle upon us, and he's a big troublemaker, jerking us around by rooting for unity some of the time and at other times rooting for racism.

BUT: I don't want to be confusing about what Nate Silver is highlighting, which is the editorial opinion shoehorned into a news headline. What Trump talked about is the news and that's what the headline should say. There's an infinite number of things that Trump didn't talk about, and headlines shouldn't report what didn't happen. The choice to put one thing that didn't happen in a headline — embracing gun control — turns it from news into opinion. The necessary implication is that he ought to have embraced gun control.

CORRECTION: When I wrote all of the above, I believed that "Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism" was the second headline! Silver thinks "Assailing Hate But Not Guns" is an improvement. Well, it's more clearly written. That is true.

ALSO: I saw on Twitter that #CancelNYT was trending. It was a reaction to the first headline, "Trump Urges Unity vs. Racism." And the NYT apparently changed the headline to appease people who expected a better demonstration of hostility toward Trump.
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