Reading the news: a worksheet

‘Touched by your warmth and simplicity’: BJP youth wing member all praise for Salman Khan after joining star for dinner. Watch

3 reports from 3 outlets over 19 hours.

• India Today and Deccan Herald used nearly the same words. Headlines this close usually come from one news agency’s copy.

1. HT Hindustan Times · 5 Oct
   ‘Touched by your warmth and simplicity’: BJP youth wing member all praise for Salman Khan after joining star for dinner. Watch

   Words only this outlet used: Touched, wing member, joining star.

2. IT India Today · 14 h · ≈ same wording
   Salman Khan hosts BJP youth leader for dinner, praised for warmth and simplicity
3. DH Deccan Herald · 13 h · ≈ same wording
   Salman Khan hosts BJP youth leader for dinner, wins praise for his 'warmth and simplicity'

   Words only this outlet used: wins.

Questions

1. Which words do most headlines share? Which words does only one outlet use, and what do they stress?

2. Who reported it first, and how long did the others take? Does “first seen by Huduku” mean they broke the story?

3. How many different owners carried it? Do any outlets share an owner, or nearly the same words?

4. Which outlets you know did not carry it? What might explain that?

5. What is the original source (a judgment, notice, speech or set of figures)? Find it. Does any headline say more than the source does?

6. If you shared one of these headlines, which would it be, and why?

Each headline links to the outlet’s own report. Huduku shows headlines only. https://huduku.org/story/2387