I’m going to agree with Nick this time about our headline referring to a 19-year-old as a “teenager.†Accurate? Yes. Misleading? Yes.
As I’ve said before, headlines by definition lack context that a full news story gives. One key test of a headline is the impression it flashes into a reader’s mind. I believe this headline led many readers to believe police shot a much younger (and by implication, more vulnerable) person.
The headline isn’t wrong. But a news story or headline can be 100% accurate, yet still inadvisable if it gives readers a false impression. That was the case here.
Sherry