Headline for a 'rock pioneer'

This post was originally published Dec. 18, and because of a technical problem was temporarily unavailable.

"Ike Turner, 1931 - 2007: Rock pioneer was known for abusing wife Tina Turner."

That headline brought more than a dozen complaints to the writer of the obituary (who didn't write the headline).

Richard Ross of Pacific Palisades started his e-mail with: "The man deserved better from The Times."

Quoting from the obituary (for which reporter Geoff Boucher also received notes of praise), Ross went on, "'First rock 'n' roll record.' 'Innovative musicality.' 'One of the most exciting live groups the world had ever heard.' Here was one of the truly all-time greats of music, who like many artists had a screwed-up personal life. That personal side certainly required mention in the text, but as for being the headline, I think it was a sad and shameful choice.”

And Valerie Bishop of Santa Monica compared the headline to other coverage: "Kudos to Elijah Wald and Ann Powers for sharing a less biased view of Mr. Turner than the headline to the obit.  That was certainly less than a classy tribute to a music icon. I worked for Ike (and Tina) in their recording studio in the early '70s and although I certainly wouldn't condone some of Ike's behavior, he most certainly was capable of displaying a very charming, generous, entertaining side.  And, last but definitely not least, he is entitled to receive full credit for his place in the music world.  I can't imagine anyone disputing that."

Obituaries are published in the California section, and Mark McGonigle oversees the copy desk for that desk. Copy editors write headlines to fit into the space that the design desk lays out for each story. In the case of the obituary for Turner, the headline was in four lines, over two columns. McGonigle said that he thought The Times could have been more sensitive in writing the headline: "I think we could have done a better job balancing his music and the troubled life. Perhaps something like this.

Rock pioneer’s
troubled life
overshadowed
musical legacy

That headline would have taken a little bit of a squeeze to make it fit, but the designers are always very accommodating when our requests are within reason."

He talked to those who worked the night the headline was written. "There was a discussion among the copy editors about the headline before it ran in the paper, and it was decided that it accurately reflected the obituary. I don't want readers to be under the impression that we write headlines without giving them a great deal of thought. In this case, I think we could have toned it down a bit with something like the headline I suggested. But the first paragraph of the obituary did say Turner acknowledged 'that he was most famous for being the abusive husband of Tina Turner.' So the headline, while blunt, was accurate."

Clark Stevens, who oversees all of the copy desks at The Times, observes: "For an obit it reads more starkly than it should. But it's accurate, and reflects the main points of the story. We could have done a better head, but we couldn't have left out the major element of abuse."

A final thought is from Jon Thurber, who is the editor who oversees the obituaries in The Times: "In thinking about the headline, I'm reminded of an admonition that former New York Times obituary editor Marvin Siegel offered in the introduction to his excellent compilation book 'The Last Word: A Celebration of Unusual Lives.' In describing the history of obituary writing, Siegel wrote: 'While the obituarist is now permitted to use anecdotes and details that may not reflect the subject in his best light, he is not issued a license to kill the subject a second time.'

"I'm afraid we failed to meet that thoughtful standard in the headline on Ike Turner."