The Budget Deficit and the Mysterious Forces That Determine Newspaper Headlines

The NYT notes that the deficit is likely to surpass $1 trillion for the fourth consecutive year. It then tells readers:

"Against that headline-grabbing figure, Mr. Obama’s explanation — that the deficit he inherited is actually on a path to be cut in half just a year later than he promised, measured as a percentage of the economy’s total output — risks sounding professorial at best."

Many people might have thought that newspapers control what goes into their headlines (the headline of this pi...