Why does the media avoid negative stories about chasing / chasers?

[Boris Konon]

A related problem, which I found out about first-hand years ago, is that the person that writes the headlines is not always the same one that wrote the article. In that case, I was misquoted as using a word I did nut use, then the headline-writer made that word the headline.

Yes, and this is standard now at many TV stations and other outlets. You have people whose specific job is to write teases and headlines, and that's it. They read the article, and then figure out how to make the headline the most dramatic and apply spin, hence the frequent disconnect.

I always get a laugh at how just the nighty national newscasts at 630pm ET are now and have been for some time. They spend *so* much time on teases at the start, basically revealing every story they will talk about, and then repeat it going to commercial break with stories they have not talked about yet. Teases are becoming more important than the actual content!