Headlines

MX’s Showdown with Saddam page bar. Over on the other end of the bar is a little aeroplane.

With the war continuing, I thought it interesting to look at what the various media outlets are calling it. Some have gone for something of a neutral title (mostly the purely geographical "War in Iraq"), and some have gone for a more confrontationalist view, just to make sure we remember who the enemy is. And some have gone for the downright silly, likeMX’s "Showdown with Saddam".

Here’s a summary, collected off various web sites and TV news services. First you’ve got the neutral-sounding ones, most of which are the same:

• Age: War in Iraq – graphic with Bush on one side, Saddam in sunglasses on the other
• 
  BBC: War in Iraq
• ABC: War in Iraq
  – Saddam and Bush
• Washington Post: War in Iraq – nice radar-style graphic
• Guardian: War in Iraq
• CNN: War in Iraq – lots of cutesy graphics
• The Times: Iraq – That’s all. Just Iraq.

Then the ones where they remind you that we’re fighting the Iraqis, not just visiting them:

• SBS: Iraq war
• Herald Sun: War with Iraq
• Sydney Morning Herald: War on Iraq – with pictures of an aeroplane and stuff

• Al Jazeera: War On Iraq

• 
  The Australian: War on Iraq
• Courier-Mail:
  War with Iraq
• 
  ABC News (USA): War with Iraq
• Channel 9: At war with Iraq – oh, they even manage to get that Howard bloke on their banner

And then there’s the rest, most of which end up sounding just a little gung-ho:

• Channel 7: Strike on Iraq
• MX: Showdown with Saddam – ha!
• Financial Review: Target Iraq – Makes it sound like a sales target.
• MSNBC: Target: Iraq
• New York Times: A nation at war – uhh, there’s more than just one nation at war…

Of course, the headline used doesn’t necessarily reflect the sentiments or the balance of the coverage within. But maybe it does say something about the attitude of the outlet in question, or how they anticipate their readers might feel.

Anybody spotted any other good ones? Put ’em in the comments.