Throwing words away one syllable at a time.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Where are all "The Wrong Stuff" headlines?

It seems like the perfect hed to me.

The Wrong Stuff: Astronaut wears diaper to drive 900 miles with kidnap/murder kit.

OK, it's a little long and maybe a teeney bit in bad taste... but still. Why does it seem like on Day Three of the Astronaut Media Blitz are the media holding back on this story, or going to lengths they don't normally go to in order to paint Lisa Nowak as a victim?

This NASA love triangle, or square if you count that Nowak's husband also works for NASA's Mission Control, is a freaking incredible story. There's a ton of underlying questions. Is NASA really this messed up? What the hell was Nowak gonna do with all that rubber tubing?

I was first surprised to see how carefully the family's requests were tucked into the end of the AP stories on the Day One this story broke. Apparently, when NASA asks, the newspapers listen. I had to wonder if they are afraid they won't get good seats, or worse be left uninvited, to the next shuttle launch.

I did a Google News search this morning, and the compassion for Nowak in the headlines is kind of shocking:

Arrested astronaut was under stress at work and home before arrest ...
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Astronaut Suffered 'Mental Anguish'
CBS News, NY

'Mental anguish' of love triangle astronaut
ic Wales, UK

Psychological tests need reviewing - Nasa
Independent Online, South Africa

Observers: Astronaut Lisa Nowak Suffered 'Mental Anguish' Over ...
FOX News

Dude, she freaking had 3-4 feet of rubber tubing, a BB gun, a knife, pepper spray and garbage bags. She drove across the southern US. If some schmoe working at the local 7-Eleven was caught after macing a woman, do you think they'd let him out wearing a GPS device so the media could print compassionate headlines? (Everybody at home, raise your hand if you thought at least once, she'd pull a CSI-trick and pry that GPS device off and plant it on the dog?)

It was the Gainesville Sun's headline this morning that tipped me over the edge: A mug shot is not your best picture.

What is the hidden message of this story splashed across the front page of the Sun?
The message is so obvious, they didn't even hide it: See, she only kinda looks like a scary strung-out stalker on a possibly a murder-rampage in her mug shot, but that's just a bad picture.

Gee, she was maligned in the press by a bad picture. I am sure that's exactly what Colleen Shipman is thinking after she saw it... well, after her eyes stopped stinging from the pepper spray.

There is hope for Day Four, even through the flack. Time magazine's hed: "Houston, She's Got Some Problems?"

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