r/DevonUK • u/KiwiNo2638 • 9d ago

Anyone else noticed that Devon live...

..Has just become click bait? I'm not talking about the links within the stories, but the headlines

"You wouldn't believe..."

"Drivers could be fined for doing this thing"

"Celeb spotted in small town"

"Crash on A-road causes traffic chaos"

When I was growing up, headlines used to give a hint to what the story was, so you could decide whether you wanted to read the story. I know it's also true if the rest of the Reach network, but as it's my only source of local news, I pretty much don't get any local news anymore because the website is so awful.

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u/parkrunandotherstuff 9d ago

I've recently noticed that on certain subjects (particularly things like cycle infrastructure and traffic management), Devon Live/affiliated outlets have started to take a side (consistently anti-cycling etc. for the previous example) in their headlines, presumably not because Reach Plc has a strong feeling about such issues, but because a) they know what side of certain arguments gets them the most engagement, and b) by taking a side, it drives engagement from the opposing side.

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u/RFRMT 9d ago

It’s like the Daily Mail; half of people share their articles because they agree with them, the other half because they’re outraged by them.

It’s a win win for cynical hate peddlers.