Stock market headlines all sound alike

Derek Donovan, the readers’ representative at the Kansas City Star, notes that the paper’s headlines about the stock market all seem to be similar.

Donovan writes, “Just today, you have ‘Dow drops as investors worry’ on A-1 and ‘Investors’ anxiety fuels dips’ on C-1. Yesterday saw ‘Disappointing earnings outlooks fuel dip; But analysts say investor anxiety appears to have lessened, although volatility remains.’ One on Oct. 3 worked two of the buzzwords in: ‘Stocks plunge as economic anxiety keeps rising; Investors worry that the government’s financial rescue plan won’t ward off a recession.’

“As I’ve said many times before, it’s pretty easy to take potshots at headlines.  They’re extremely difficult to write.  The editor has to sum up the story accurately and succinctly, and it has to fit in the space allotted on the page.

“And, well, a lot of financial news has been pretty similar of late, too.  But I still agree that The Star should look for some more variety in reporting what’s going on in the markets.”

Read more here.