Do you remember as a kid looking at the picture of a toy on the box and then opening it and finding it didn’t quite match the sell job created by the artist’s conception? I distinctly remember being a youngster and finding the difference between a remote controlled car and a radio controlled car meant one has a cord attached to the controller and the other didn’t. I wasn’t quite sold a bill of goods but the sales job didn’t quite match reality. These days I find that headlines often over sell the product and under deliver on content.

Today’s US News and World Report asks; Fish Oil Supplements, EPA, DHA, and ALA: Does Your Omega-3 Source Matter? A few weeks ago the New York Times had a headline that read: The Claim: Fish Oil Supplements Can Contain Mercury. In both of these cases a quick declarative sentence can either answer the question or dispel the myth-hardly the pay off a reader might be looking for with such inquiring headlines. Does the source matter? Yes. Do supplements contain mercury? No.

Responsible members of the media know that