I don’t know if this is effecting it, but this line needs to be changed
Looking at the second code example you posted
<!-- WP_Query WordPress loop -->
<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>
to
<!-- WP_Query WordPress loop -->
<?php if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>
Also remove this line, the titles should be output in the loop of $postObjects
<?php echo $postObject->$post_title; ?>