From Hawaii to Cali: A jackass journey-in headlines

Yesterday, the Winnipeg Free Press posted a story online about 120 donkeys that were flown from Hawaii to California by the Humane Society of the United States to save them from becoming unusable and abused.

Anyways, I've read about five versions of this story covering the donkey movement from the Big Island to the mainland and the headlines were one cheesy (or hilarious) stab afer another at grabbing the reader's attention.

"When donkeys fly: 120 jennies and jackasses"- The Canadian Press
"Donkey airlift"- LA Times
"Yes, it's true! Donkeys fly!"-Hawaii News Now
"No jet lag for 120 donkeys after Hawaii-LA flight!"-Kansas City Star
"Operation Donkey Airlift"-Hawaii 24/7
"Have you ever flown with passengers like this?" -Gretawire blog

So the easily amused geek in me is cracking up at these headlines, thinking of how clever some of them are, or cheesy, whatever. But the other half of me is shaking my head, thinking of how lame they are. Like, its funny if I think of it but if my mom were to tell the joke, I would not laugh- kind of funny.

Anyways, from what I've learned in Radio class this year, this is what we would call a "kicker", which is a news story that doesn't tell of someone's untimely (or timely) death, violent criminal activity, or natural distasters. This story can be twisted in a somewhat humorous way to lighten the mood after what may have been a series of grim news reports.

For example, Monday night on CJOB, there was a cow on the loose in Charleswood. They were warning motorists to beware for the "beast" that was roaming through the streets.

A lot of kickers usually include stories about animals, the somewhat silly celebrities antics, non-violent crime (depending on circumstances), or a story about the weather or firemen helping kittens stuck in a tree (but I guess that's cats again).