Lord love a duck, but the Washington Post can be an exercise in literary cowardice. OK, their articles can be OK, but the headlines? A tribulation on my mind. They carefully back away from every firm conclusion, hedging themselves with ‘would,’ ‘could,’ and all the other weasel words.
War News
Check out yesterday’s Post news on their cheerfully passive-voice “War in Ukraine” (and not the more descriptive Russo-Ukrainian War or the Russian war on Ukraine):
Headline: “War could be headed toward stalemate.”
Subhead: “Russian invasion could become unsustainable, experts say.”
Washington Post, March 20, 2022
The main headline has to set a record for the most indecision in the shortest space. Some ‘war’ (not any specific country) has itself a head with enough self-awareness to lean that said organ toward a stalemate (which isn’t a direction). But no, “could be a stalemate” was still too direct for WaPo. It only ‘could’ be headed ‘toward’ that way. Maybe. But don’t hold us to it.
By comparison, here’s a quote from inside that coverage:
The front lines have barely moved in more than a week. Russians are being killed or injured at the rate of up to 1,000 a day, according to Western intelligence estimates, and even more according to Ukrainian ones.
Russia’s war for Ukraine could be headed toward stalemate, Washington Post, March 20, 2022.
Accurate and refreshingly direct.
A Word to the Headline Writers
Dickheads. You’re reporting measurable facts, not opinions. Look at the maps. The Russian offensive has been dead in the water for a week or more. They still have no air superiority. The Ukrainian defense fought them to a standstill a week ago. There is no ‘could,’ and the war isn’t ‘headed’ into a stalemate. They’ve been in at a standstill long enough that the Russian invaders are digging defensive trenches. Yes, the humiliated Russian generals might change directions and bludgeon their way out of that hole. They’re actively committing war crimes with that goal in mind. But the future is speculation, not fact. And milquetoast qualifiers about the present – ‘would,’ ‘could,’ ‘toward,’ ‘become’ – those are the opinions, not the facts.
False Sustainability
The subhead is just as miserable: “Russian invasion could become unsustainable, experts say.” Or, if I can rephrase it, “No army can long survive 1-2% daily losses.”
How many degrees of separation do these brave defenders of American Freedom require? First separation: there are some facts the Post won’t say themselves. Oh no! For some reason, that’s not their place. So, first, they found a talking head (“…Experts say”) to hide behind. But that was still scary. Besides, their potted experts said that the Russians couldn’t sustain these massive military losses. Too decisive! The Post hid behind ‘could,’ and when that wasn’t enough cover, they added ‘become.’ All for a conclusion they pretended wasn’t their own.
Lordy. No, it’s not a challenging conclusion, and you don’t need experts. The Ukrainian defense has destroyed shockingly high numbers of tanks, planes, missile launchers, armored troop carriers, yadda yadda yadda. The confirmed official numbers are unsustainably high, and the reality is probably a factor or two higher. No military on earth can lose ten percent of their military every four weeks.
Coming up: The possibility of continuing war could mean that the country might be moving toward gas prices becoming higher, according to experts.
Consequences
Ripple effects of war could mean higher farming, food costs in U.S., Washington Post, March 19, 2022.
With Russia and Ukraine not exporting much wheat and fertilizer prices already high and rising, it’s late in the afternoon for “could.”
To be fair, it isn’t just the Post. Many corporate-owned news sources are smearing the details of their war coverage, dismissing Ukraine’s defense while leaving Russia’s position look almost positive.
Are the big media worried some pro-Russian group might cause trouble if Russia looked hapless?
And in Other News
How about for non-war news. The same fainthearted ideas crop up all over the paper. “Texas wildfire kills 1, as officials worry extreme drought could worsen conditions,” (Washington Post, March 20, 2022). “Worry” and “could.” Huh. The drought is real, but the effects aren’t? Maybe the Post wasn’t sure whether dry conditions put out fires. And from the headline, nobody else cares.
Or maybe the Post worries that anything that mentions the climate will trigger a Republican backlash? Just spitballing here?
By comparison, consider, “They thought they unearthed the world’s largest potato. It turned out not to be a potato at all” (Washington Post, March 19, 2022). Simple declarative stuff. I guess they’re not worried about blowback from the gourd lobby.
Lost Principles and Literary Cowardice
The Washington Post used to be a lion, defending truth and honesty. That’s why their modern literary cowardice is so disappointing. Now they’re too afraid to speak the truth, pretending to hold principles they can’t seem to find with both hands. Honestly, NBC is worse, and the New York Times clings to both-siderism as if it was their lost virtue. What else is being ‘managed,’ I wonder?
