Just curious. Of the 5 headlines listed below, which would you click open first and why do you think you would do that?

4 or 5 – not sure in which order. I consider personal stories the dandruff of the internet and while I’ll sometime succumb and scratch, I prefer my news to be news.

2. Crime stories always fascinate me.

5, then 4. Like @janbb, I prefer actual news. The other 3 are not news.

* Edit: And technically, the Ted Cruz stuff has got to be considered satire – even if unintentional.

For some reason story 3 awakens my curiosity.

Maybe 5, only because of its laughable fear-mongering attempt. Wouldn’t dare click on anything else.

I would open 1, then 3, then 5.

There has to be an interesting story behind a man dead 2 years getting arrested.
I gravitate to the ‘uplifting’ news stories.
ISIS/ISIL is not being given enough attention by the American public.

If a mom killed her children, that is mental illness not news.
Google Ted Cruz images and he is not photogenic enough to become an American president.

They all bore me.

number 4. In a room full of interesting stuff, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the snake.

@ibstubro There’s a difference between “reported dead” and being dead. Hence the arrest, I assume.

And the value of “Who is GOP Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz?” is 100% dependent upon the source, @janbb. A little faux news, anyone?

I still find the businessman’s story compelling. He was even caught in a car with his wife.

@ibstubro you’re right. That’s where critical thinking is so important.

5 first, since I am interested in people faking their own deaths. Then 4, since someone here said they know the family.
I already know too damn much about Ted Cruz and ISIS at any rate.

I would not open one of these. I don’t expect any of these stories to tell me more than the headline just did, and in any case, there are no surprises among these headlines. There’s no news here.

If the last headline (5) came from an interesting source, I might be tempted to look further. But I’d expect a more thought-provoking headline for a good story.

I would roll my eyes at the first two and say, “Ah, Florida, I don’t miss it.” Probably, I would not read any of those stories.

Here’s some more Florida Man stories.

I am pretty ambivalent about all of them. #1 might pique my interest from pure curiosity. As for #2, it seems to be “tabloid” in nature. Looking at #3, headline tells me as much as I need to know about someone else’s loneliness. #4…Ted Cruz? I’ll probably just get upset by reading about him. For #5, I get the impression that there’s nothing I could gain by reading this article.

Meh….none of them really interest me, but, probably #2. I find it morbidly fascinating that women can murder their own children. True crazy.

5, unfortunately.

The one that features a hot young woman in a bikini to illustrate the story.

I’d open none of them, boring & of no interest to me at all.

1,3,2,5,4 in that order.
And the only reason 1 got No. 1 is because the others held very little interest for me.
3 is not real news, just a feelgood story.
2 is local news, sad but not to my taste. It will get read eventually.
5 I know quite a bit about and from the headline appears to be another scare tactic story designed to make me fork over tax dollars to buy more military hardware to keep us safe.
4. I know more about Mr. Cruz than I care to and dislike him already. I disagree both on his politics and his tactics and, as @ibstubro points out, the spin will depend on the source.

#4. It’s information that seems most worth my time considering it’s a presidential candidate and I’m a voter.

#1–2 sound like nothing new, and not things I wish to give attention to.
#3 is just seeking attention.
#5 interests me, too, but unfortunately I don’t know much about the middle east.

Interestingly enough, Ted Cruz made the front page of the Metro the other day. (see right)
It was a bio about his college days (he went to Harvard).