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I know this is slightly off-topic, but I find this headline to be extremely strange. Why not "Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd has Died"? Surely the news is his death, n

I know this is slightly off-topic, but I find this headline to be extremely strange. Why not "Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd has Died"? Surely the news is his death, not the announcement?

jpadkins 7y ago
good journalistic practice is to not report something as fact until it is independently verified. So in the online world with a rush to push the article, the headline has to reflect what they actually know ('oracle reported'). They will probably update the headline once they get confirmation.
- netsharc 7y ago
  A lot of times headlines use quotes to indicate that someone other than than the news org said it. But I wonder how many readers are barely literate and don't realize this. In this case the headline could be; Orace Co-CEO Mark Hurd 'has died'
  - paublyrne 7y ago
    That sounds a bit weird. That would imply the term 'has died' was somehow facetious or metaphorical.
    - lostlogin 7y ago
      What about: Oracle: Co-CEO Mark Hurd has died.
    - shredprez 7y ago
      Ah, scare quotes. How about: Oracle: "Co-Ceo Mark Hurd Has Died"
      - skyyler 7y ago
        This is better than the title? Why?
        monkeydreams 7y ago
        Because the subject of the title is Oracle, while the subject of the suggested title is Mark Hurd.
    - refurb 7y ago
      It actually sounds like something North Korea would say. “The hostages ‘succumb to an accident’”
  - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
    I find that worse, it suggests something is known definitely to have happened but it's being described in an unusual way. In any case I'm not sure this is the time for such conversations.
jszymborski 7y ago
Agreed, I had the same immediate reaction. Almost as if they were making an implicit claim that Oracle might have a reason for claiming he has died when he might not have. But ultimately, I think this is just journalist practice when reporting things as they happen. Until things are more certain, it's more prudent to report the announcement than the event.
i_am_nomad 7y ago
Maybe they’re still waiting for the transaction to commit?
- fdanconia21 7y ago
  too soon...but I did chuckle.
mc32 7y ago
It might be an attempt to play on the word “Oracle”, but I don’t think death announcements are a good time to play with words... so, not sure.
- Kiro 7y ago
  I'm very sure that's not the case.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
sky_rw 7y ago
When I die I hope I achieve such fame as to be immortalized in a pedantic hacker news arguement.

I know this is slightly off-topic, but I find this headline to be extremely strange. Why not "Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd has Died"? Surely the news is his death, not the announcement?

jpadkins 7y ago

good journalistic practice is to not report something as fact until it is independently verified. So in the online world with a rush to push the article, the headline has to reflect what they actually know ('oracle reported'). They will probably update the headline once they get confirmation.

netsharc 7y ago
A lot of times headlines use quotes to indicate that someone other than than the news org said it. But I wonder how many readers are barely literate and don't realize this. In this case the headline could be; Orace Co-CEO Mark Hurd 'has died'
- paublyrne 7y ago
  That sounds a bit weird. That would imply the term 'has died' was somehow facetious or metaphorical.
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    What about: Oracle: Co-CEO Mark Hurd has died.
  - shredprez 7y ago
    Ah, scare quotes. How about: Oracle: "Co-Ceo Mark Hurd Has Died"
    - skyyler 7y ago
      This is better than the title? Why?
      - monkeydreams 7y ago
        Because the subject of the title is Oracle, while the subject of the suggested title is Mark Hurd.
  - refurb 7y ago
    It actually sounds like something North Korea would say. “The hostages ‘succumb to an accident’”
- pbhjpbhj 7y ago
  I find that worse, it suggests something is known definitely to have happened but it's being described in an unusual way. In any case I'm not sure this is the time for such conversations.

jszymborski 7y ago

Agreed, I had the same immediate reaction. Almost as if they were making an implicit claim that Oracle might have a reason for claiming he has died when he might not have. But ultimately, I think this is just journalist practice when reporting things as they happen. Until things are more certain, it's more prudent to report the announcement than the event.

i_am_nomad 7y ago

Maybe they’re still waiting for the transaction to commit?

fdanconia21 7y ago
too soon...but I did chuckle.

mc32 7y ago

It might be an attempt to play on the word “Oracle”, but I don’t think death announcements are a good time to play with words... so, not sure.

Kiro 7y ago
I'm very sure that's not the case.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

sky_rw 7y ago

When I die I hope I achieve such fame as to be immortalized in a pedantic hacker news arguement.