The NYT is making an xxx of itself again.

[rogerashton]

Headline:

Demonstrator, 20, Is Arrested in the Shooting of 2 Officers in Ferguson

From the article:

The authorities said Mr. Williams, who was on probation at the time of the shooting for receiving stolen property, admitted his involvement to investigators and acknowledged firing the shots. He told investigators that he had a dispute with some people outside the police station that had nothing to do with the demonstration, officials said.

[Rex]

1. So he took aim and shot at some folks right outside the police station? With all that was going on?

Did he leave his brain at home when he got in the car? That sounds so stupid, I'm at a loss for words now.

[Skittles]

9. sounds like a typical gun humper to me

[Rex]

16. I dunno that is even stupid for a gun humper imo.

He couldn't wait 20 minutes for them to walk away from the police station? It's hard to believe anyone is that stupid.

[Nye Bevan]

2. So what is your issue with the headline or the article excerpt?

They both look pretty reasonable to me. What am I missing?

[giftedgirl77]

4. Well, let's see if we can break it down for you...

The headline reads: Demonstrator, 20, Is Arrested in the Shooting of 2 Officers in Ferguson.

Yet the last sentence of the story says : He told investigators that he had a dispute with some people outside the police station that had nothing to do with the demonstration, officials said. 

Obviously what you are missing is the clear misleading & obvious false claim by this newspaper regarding this shooter. It has been stated repeatedly that he had nothing to do with the protests by the authorities.

[Nye Bevan]

5. Ah, so the point is that he was not a "demonstrator".

Thanks, I missed that.

[giftedgirl77]

6. To those of us that are part of this movement & care

deeply about our brother's & sister's who are fighting peacefully everyday to just try & get equal treatment & protection under the law. Yes, that distinction matters greatly.

[840high]

3. And???? Why are u upset?

[giftedgirl77]

7. please see post 4

[rhett o rick]

8. The people that write the headlines are not the people that write the story.

The people that write the headlines are trying to grab interest. Often their headlines misrepresents the story.

[rogerashton]

13. I know -- some of my journalistic writing has suffered from headline-writers.

But when the headline reverses the meaning of the writing, that is p-poor journalism, pardon my stammer. When it happens in a student newspaper, bad enough, but in the NYT? And when the distortion has an obvious political bias? Seems scandalous to me.

Thanks, giftedgirl77, for carrying the ball for me. And for the passion. We shall overcome -- some day.

[rhett o rick]

17. The biggest fight is still ahead of us. nm

[meaculpa2011]

10. The dispute had nothing to do with the demonstration...

however, witnesses reported that the shooter had participated in this and other demonstrations.

[Cha]

12. These witnesses said "No" they'd never seen him protesting before..

Arrest Made In Connection To Ferguson Police Shooting

snip//

But regular demonstrators denied that they had ever seen Williams at the protests.

"We don't know him," said Tony Rice, the founder of Ground Level Support, who has been protesting since August

After naming three young male protesters who were regularly at the demonstrations, Rice told HuffPost, "I don't think there is a male 20-years-old that regularly protest outside of them.I think I can speak for the protester community in saying we don't know him," said Rice

After the press conference, press swarmed Alicia Street when she helped source the first picture of Williams. Street, 29, has been actively involved in protest since August as well and says she was unfamiliar with Williams as well.

"I have never seen him at a protest. I cannot recall that I even seen him that night. We know a lot of people out there, we really do. I even showed pictures to other regular protesters and they said they didn't know him," Street told HuffPost.

Other regular demonstrators also said that they did not recognize Williams.

MOre..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/15/ferguson-police-shooting-arrest_n_6873364.html?ir=Politics&utm_campaign=031515&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-politics&utm_content=FullStory&ncid=newsltushpmg00000003


Wesley Lowry Tweets on this from Ferguson, MO

http://theobamadiary.com/2015/03/15/a-tweet-or-two-261/

[Revanchist]

11. Looks like they changed it, no correction notice so i don't know when

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/us/suspect-arrested-in-shooting-of-2-officers-in-ferguson-police-say.html

[rogerashton]

14. The headline was still there in the print version I saw this morning.

Lead article on the national news page. There is that about print -- it is not so easy to modify if you, um, foul up.

[planetc]

15. "Arrest Made in Ferguson police shooting"

is a perfectly accurate headline for the story. I also resented the strong implication that the Ferguson demonstrators were somehow responsible for the arson (and looting?) that happened during the first Mike Brown demonstrations. Hundreds of people who were peacefully protesting were tarred with the same brush as thieves and arsonists.

Newspapers and other media can commit journalistic malpractice. We see it done every day.