Atlantic City Newspaper Runs Inappropriate Jerry Blavat Headline

HARRY HURLEY OPINION - EDITORIAL 

I have long predicted that the actual printed newspaper will eventually cease to exist in its present form.

Fewer and fewer people subscribe to or purchase the printed edition of newspapers and magazines.

There are many millions of Americans who have never looked at or touched a physical newspaper.

This trajectory will continue.

Here is an interesting case study. There is such a stark difference between the digital edition and print edition versions of The Press of Atlantic City newspaper regarding the death of famed disc jockey Jerry Blavat.

The Press of Atlantic City online edition reported it like this:

Here is today’s The Press of Atlantic City print edition headline:

In my opinion, the digital edition headline is professional, respectful, and appropriate.

It compares to our headline, which was printed prior to The Press of Atlantic City version.

Philadelphia & New Jersey’s DJ Jerry Blavat Dies At Age 82

Read More: Philadelphia & New Jersey’s DJ Jerry Blavat Dies At Age 82

For reasons known only to The Press of Atlantic City, (in their print edition) they decided to write a headline, which seems to be a cheap impersonation of trying to be like The New York Post.

My unsolicited recommendation is to not try to copy The New York Post … who is the most effective and creative print edition newspaper headline writers in the nation.

For The Press of Atlantic City to write “Geator Off The Air” at the very time of his passing is crass and just plain wrong.

A life was lost. To cheapen it into what they thought was a clever headline is the absolute worst approach that they could have taken.

I have always believed that at the time of someone’s passing that you should only say and do nice things.

Surviving family members are grieving and things like this can hurt very much.

I both like and respect W.F. “Buzz” Keough, who is the executive editor of The Press of Atlantic City. Keough had spent more than 35 years working his way to the top position at The Press of Atlantic City.

He’s better than this. Whoever wrote this headline let Keough down, too.

Vincent Jackson is the staff writer who wrote the Jerry Blavat article. His coverage is appropriate. The staff writer doesn’t write the headline.

On this solemn occasion, the headline did not match the news coverage. To reduce a man’s life to an attempt to grab a “catchy” headline is a low blow.

It is interesting to note that The Press of Atlantic City City digital edition was professional and respectful. As compared to the print edition version, which took an insensitive, more tabloid style approach.