Me: Starr Asks To Delay Report
Starr Asked To Delay Report
Surely the first one implies that it is still possible that Starr's request will be granted, while the second one implies that it is no longer possible (perhaps because the report has already been published).
Faldage: I don't see the implications you suggest, simply because the syntax of headlines doesn't indicate that Starr was doing the asking in the latter form. Maybe that's strictly an USn convention, but.
Ok, suppose something comes to light now about something that happened quite a while ago. If for example it was only just discovered today that Starr had asked to delay the report in the mid-90s, how would you construct a headline?
This comes up tolerably often in the UK where certain documents, for example cabinet minutes, are only released to the public after 30 years. So we only get to find out about some things 30 years later, when even in a headline the present simple tense is obviously inappropriate.
Bingley
