Misleading headlines erode media credibility

The Des Moines Register's story on HF 2128 is a compelling one, but marred by a headline designed to drive clicks and stoke outrage.

Stephen Gruber-Miller wrote an article about a bill in the Iowa House yesterday in the Des Moines Register. 

The article's headline reads, "Iowa doesn't require US citizenship for in-state tuition. A Republican bill would end that."

The bill in question is HF 2128, sponsored by State Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, that would require the Iowa Board of Regents and Iowa's Community Colleges to adopt rules that would, if passed, require students either be U.S. citizens or present in the country legally in order to qualify for the in-state tuition rate. 

You don't get that information until about four paragraphs in. The article starts with Hector Salamanca Arroyo, a former undocumented immigrant who later became a U.S. citizen by deploying overseas with the Colorado Army National Guard. During a subcommittee Arroyo shared his story about how he went to DMACC and then Drake University, graduating with honors. Arroyo qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, enabling him to work his way through school. 

It's a compelling story with a misleading headline. One that drives clicks and stokes outrage by those who disagree with Republican policies on immigration.