The Syracuse University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists takes issue with The Daily Orange for the culturally-insensitive headline it had for a story in its Monday, April 20 print edition.

The headline and article under our scrutiny is “Viet-Nom Nom Nom: Ky Duyen Café offers variety of traditional Vietnamese cuisine for affordable prices” in The D.O.’s “From the Kitchen” page in the Pulp section. Although we believe that the editors’ intentions were not to offend Vietnamese people or any demographic group, the headline choice was tasteless.

It is one thing to play with words to draw readers in — wordplay is an important and quite useful design and communication skill. However, The D.O.’s editorial staff crossed a line with this headline choice. It is an example of a failed attempt at cleverness.

Because several of our members and officers have worked for The D.O., we know that this headline was approved by the head section editor and management staff, and at least five to six other staff members agreed with at this headline. It is disappointing to see that one of the most highly-regarded college newspapers in the U.S. would deem this as acceptable.

The headline also brings up a bigger issue within the journalism industry — many news organizations make the mistake of letting these subtle comments and innuendos pass by and get put into their final product. They may seem small and unintentional, but it leads to ignorant, offensive and culturally-insensitive remarks marginalizing people that we report on and deliver news to. The Daily Orange can lead efforts to be a more inclusive news organization through various means, including diversifying its editorial staff or holding workshops on how to report on underrepresented demographics.

For such a highly-regarded newspaper with a history of sending former editors and writers to big-name media organizations, the “Viet-Nom Nom Nom” headline disappoints us. We demand more and expect better from The Daily Orange.

Sincerely,

Syracuse Society of Professional Journalists
Rachel Lockhart, Class of 2017
Max Antonucci, Class of 2015
Ellen Meyers, Class of 2017
Fatima Bangura, Class of 2017

Published on April 21, 2015 at 11:41 pm