TIME's Nov 3rd Headlines on Teacher Tenure Are Very Revealing

The headlines on the TIME Magazine cover are very radical and outspoken.

“Rotten Apples, It’s nearly impossible to fire a bad teacher.” and, “Some Tech Millionaires may have found a way to change that.” These are clear and outspoke words: “nearly impossible”; “Tech Millionaires” (plural); “may have found a way”. Hypes the problem and exaggerates the numbers of people involved and the level of their success.

Yet, the headline inside the magazine paints a different portrait. “Nearly impossible” becomes “very difficult”. “Some Tech Millionaires” becomes “One Silicon Valley Businessman”. “May have found a way” becomes “wants to change that”.

A reasonable person might see a “bait and switch” scam going on here. Like the Carnival Barker who exaggerates the attributes of his tent’s novelty, headline writers/barkers seek to get your attention by exaggerating the attributes of the article. Once they’ve got your attention, the claims begin to be moderated. The article doesn’t contain information that substantiates the cover headlines. But readers often go away with the more radical headlines as their mental image and take away.