Author Topic: Is the use of word "shot" appropriate in CNN Philippines headline  (Read 4859 times)

Justine A.

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Sir, I read in the Facebook page of CNN Philippines this headline:"Australian journalist shot in Marawi" Is the use of word "shot" here right rather than "hit by stray bullet" Or it is intended for attention-getting?

Joe Carillo

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Re: Is the use of word "shot" appropriate in CNN Philippines headline
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2017, 08:44:57 AM »
The word "shot" in that headline is in the sense of "having been struck with a missile especially from a gun or bow." It does not indicate whether the shot was intended or a stray bullet that just happened to hit him. In that sense, I don't think that the choice of "shot" for that headline was specifically meant to be more attention-getting than "hit by stray bullet." It just happened to be the more factual word choice in the absence of solid evidence or clear indication that that Australian journalist was shot deliberately or accidentally. (Indeed, in the war zone that Marawi City has become today, it's really extremely difficult to tell.)