Of talking trees and swearing turkeys

Ms Ima Turkey Goodie Can

The Sydney Morning Herald today comments on the apparent incongruity of the following headline:

TURKEY SWEARS IN NEW PARLIAMENT

Is this about an angry turkey, upset about a parliament's failure to outlaw turkey-eating at Thanksgiving?

No, its about a new set of politicians sworn in in the nation of Turkey.

Its also about sub-editors not reading their headlines.

I used to delight in this, as one way of lightening the rubbish I had to read when indexing the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News as part of my duties early in my former career of public librarian.  (And unlike many ex-librarians, I actually lasted 22 years.  So there!  Mind you, today neither this newspaper nor I are going concerns in our former work roles - although I lasted until 2002, whereas that newspaper closed in 1982.)

The newspaper ran many such unintentionally hilarious headlines, such as:

GUM TREE TALKS

No indication whether it dances or sings .. actually, it was just about some discussions between a developer and the local government authority regarding saving an historic tree on a development site.

Now back to our swearing turkey ... the remarkable thing about this story is the number of other news services, which, as listed by Google,  reported this headline holus bolus without doing an Ambiguity Check.  These included:

• Voice of America
• Turkish Digest
• StreetInsider.com
• WNYC New York Public Radio

A traditional problem with news reporting is when news services run other outlets' news without checking the facts (nor indeed, reading the item).  This must be more of a problem in this internet-wired news world.

Oh well ... maybe the tree really did talk - a bit like the Singing Bush in the film Three Amigos! (1986) .

• The image of Miss Ima Turkey Goodie Can is from the website of the Kansas City (Kansas) Public Library.