Those avid readers of the Daily Shout will have joined me in nodding their head (and maybe holding a fist aloft) while reading Jane's lament about the lack of credible journalism with which we are faced on today’s newswires.

As a result I, like her, am somewhat confused by the lack of interest seemingly shown in undertakings such as the Crickey website, seeing as it does seem to offer one of but a few independent and worthwhile voices on the subject.

Now appropriate reporting on issues of interest or importance is one thing. But, I sunk to new depths of despair this morning when confronted by the headline article the Age website ran. Last night was the Brownlow Medal count, and being that Melbourne is Melbourne, one can expect and even justify some aspect of the event being front and centre in the headline stakes. Furthermore, as a fairly avid Geelong supporter, I’m going to avoid the accusation of parochialism and ignore the fact that the headline has nothing to do with the bloke who so deservingly won it, finally!

No, there are two absolute abominations on this headline, can you spot them. Christ I hope so! And no, I’m not talking about the obvious one. My issues are subject and wording.

Some twit at the Age has managed to perform the truly Herculean feat of bastardising the words Brownlow Medal so that they could, perhaps, at some angle, if you were pissed, be used to describe the baffling attention paid to what girls wear to a best and fairest. Sorry, did I miss something? I was under the impression that last night was held to recognise the achievements of the best player of the year and present him with a medal. The inordinate attention paid to the clothes of their partners after the fact is somewhat strange. Yeah, it makes a nice interlude as they all walk in, and gives the host broadcaster some more time to spew advertising at those of us bored enough to watch the telecast. But, if you’d waited until this morning to find out who the winner was, you’d be forgiven for not knowing, with the near blanket coverage on breakfast radio, Sunrise and Today given to the fact that some girls looked nice, a lot wore jewellery and one slag looked like she had Gary Ablett and Tom Harley in a headlock!

To make matters worse the vomit inducing choice of words has had a somewhat misleading side-effect. In the long and shameful history of twisting words to appear remotely amusing for a newspaper headline, I’d be surprised to learn if there has ever been a bigger disgrace than this one. Merriam-Webster online defines mettle as ‘vigour and strength of spirit or temperament’ or, and this one particularly amuses me ‘staying quality’. Given the choice of a picture of what looks to be two girls - I think that’s what the one on the right is! - whose dresses have given up trying to stay on, the use of the word mettle to intimate staying power is hopelessly wide of the make. As for the other definition, well you’ve got me stuffed!

Some headlines are quite amusing, and serve to draw the reader into the article. I confess to having read a whole article that otherwise would have held little interest after reading “Balloon Race: Six Drop Out”. However, this is beyond the pale. I can only hope the writer responsible was fired….at the sun!

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