Buzzwords - Bubonic Plague

There are a couple of buzzwords that get attention due to popularity, like the BP oil spill (it wouldn't be a so much of an entity if it was Mexico Gulf instead of BP,) or Chinese coal mine accidents. We get a lot of articles on both, but it doesn't mean news reporters won't use a scary term on a boring bit of news. It's the old art of headlining and everyone does it to an extent.

The most recent example I found was about Peru, where a preventable disease killed one and infected 31 others, who can be treated with antibiotics. That's long, boring and fails to grab readers; how about this: "Bubonic Plague Outbreak in Peru." Much catchier. AP actually used "Peru plague outbreak kills 1, infects at least 31." striking the middle ground.

I'm sure they would've just passed on this if they couldn't have said "plague." One dead and 31 infected to a curable disease which only needs antibiotics and had the last outing in Peru 1994 is less newsworthy than the yearly Influenza wave in Finland which kills about a thousand people.

Cheap news, anyone want some?

AP, through Yahoo