No Number Needed

As I was pondering this headline—“Woman, 79, Breaks Leg After Hiking to Spot Where she Scattered Mom’s Ashes. Then Strangers Carried Her for Hours”—I came across a document from the UC Berkeley Retirement Center called “Engage with Age.” The subtitle is “Avoiding age stereotypes: A brief journalist’s guide.”

The one-pager mentions that including age is often irrelevant to the story and can perpetuate stereotypes—something that more journalists need to understand. Thank you, UC Berkeley!

In fact, this headline could have started with “Avid hiker” instead of “Woman, 79,” and it would have been perfectly accurate.

Photo by Leyla Helvaci on Pexels