wk. 11.2 headlines-web

7/28/2019 Wk. 11.2 Headlines-Web

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Headline Writing


2/41

Crack Found on Governor's Daughter


3/41

Something Went Wrong in

Jet Crash, Expert Says


4/41

Police Begin Campaign to

Run Down Jaywalkers


5/41

Is there a ring of debris around Uranus?


6/41

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over


7/41

Miners Refuse to Work after Death


8/41

Juvenile court to try shooting defendant


9/41

War Dims Hope for Peace


10/41

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile


11/41

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures


12/41

Red Tape Holds

Up New Bridges


13/41

Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge


14/41

Astronaut Takes Blame for

Gas in Spacecraft


15/41


16/41

Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy


17/41

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half


18/41

Hospitals are sued by 7 foot doctors


19/41

THE GREATEST HEADLINE

EVER WRITTEN

Headless body found in topless bar

New York Post
http://www.newyorkpost.com/http://www.newyorkpost.com/


20/41

A Study in Contrasts

William J. Brink, a former managing editor of

The Daily News of New York was responsible

for one of the most memorable headlines in

American journalism:

FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD


21/41

A Study in Contrasts

The corresponding headline in The New York

Times that day:

FORD, CASTIGATING CITY, ASSERTS

HE'D VETO FUND GUARANTEE; OFFERS

BANKRUPTCY BILL


22/41

The Science of Headline Writing

No. 1 Rule: Headlines must tell the reader

what the story's about

Headlines must be accurate

Headlines must be fair

Headlines must fit and fill the space allotted


23/41


The headlines tone must be consistent withthe nature of the story

The headlines tone must be consistent with

the personality of the publication The headline can't say more than the story

says In other words, the story must sustain the

headline

The headline needs to persuade the readerto read the story.


24/41


The issue of what words we use and how we

use them in headlines is important.

It is often a subject of a newspapers

ombudsmans weekly column.

Take, for example, a column by Pam Platt in

the Louisville Courier-Journal.


25/41


She notes that more than one reader complainedabout the following headline over a story aboutCindy Sheehan:

" 'Sympathetic Bush says leaving Iraq is wrong'

The headline, one reader complained: paints an entirely different and misleading picture of the

Cindy Sheehan story.

Obviously, if the President was in fact sympathetic, he

would have talked with her on the day she arrived. . . . Once again, The Courierhas taken sides in the most

insidious of ways. Painting the story via the headings.Shame on you."


26/41


In another headline readers criticize, the main

body of Lutherans in the USA was labeled a

'sect.'

I know it's a handy, short word with a vaguelyreligious connotation, but there's no way any

branch of the Lutherans, who originated the

Reformation 'way back when, meet any butthe remotest definition of the word.''


27/41


Platt interviewed John McIntyre, former

president of the American Copy Editors

Society and an assistant managing editor at

the Baltimore Sun. He likened writing headlines to a combination

of playing Scrabble and completing a

crossword puzzle.


28/41


Asked about those headlines, he said: " 'Sympathetic Bush' would trouble me

because it imputes an emotion or attitude,

suggesting that we know something about

the inner workings of someone else's mind.

'Bush expresses sympathy, stays firm on Iraq' or

something of the sort would be more neutral and

factual.''


29/41


"Calling Lutherans a 'sect' probably doescarry a negative charge. . . .

'Denomination' is a long word for a headline

I sympathize with the copy editor -- but 'sect'

reads as 'faction,' though not as opprobrious as

'cult' would have been.

'Religion' would also be wrong, because

Lutheranism is a denomination within a religion.''


30/41

John McIntyre on Headline Writing

Q: What should readers reasonably

expect from headlines?

McIntyre:

Accuracy, clarity and precision.

Liveliness and originality are important to

capturing the reader's interest, but they are

secondary to accuracy.


31/41


Q: What challenges do copy editors facein meeting those expectations?

McIntyre:

There is seldom enough time to polish andrefine headlines as much as copy editorswould like.

And the lack of time also comes up against

the fundamental challenge: distilling thesense of an entire article into half a dozenwords.


32/41


Q: What are the uppermost cardinal rulesof good headline writing?

McIntyre:

Try to follow the vocabulary and syntax ofconversational English insofar as you can.

Avoid headlinese ("Solons slate parley") and

wretched, obvious wordplay ("purr-fect" forany story about cats).


33/41

Headline Checklist

After you have written a headline, ask:

Does it tell the news clearly?

If it's a news story, does the headline contain

the latest developments?

If it's a feature story, does it convey the basic

sense of the story?

Is it accurate and informative?

From theAmerican Press Institute
http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/


34/41

Headline Checklist

Is it compelling in approach, news angle and

impact?

Does it contain concrete nouns and active-

voice, present-tense verbs?

Does the tone fit the story, so that when thereis emotion or a human element, irony or humor

it is reflected in the head?


35/41

Headline Checklist

Does it avoid the obstacles to clarity?

1. Jargon2. Cliches

3. Slang

4. Headlinese5. Forced phrases

6. Abbreviations

7. Acronyms8. Obscure names and puns: Serious news

stories should not contain any puns.


36/41

Headline Checklist

Does it have words or meanings that are asprecise as possible?

Does it make each word count by being direct

and dense with information? Does it play fair by trying to reflect both sides

of a story if an opposing view exists, or at

least avoid overemphasizing one point of

view?


37/41

Headline Checklist

Does it avoid danger of libel, take caution

with sensitive material and include attributionwhen necessary?

Does it include the "where" when important?

Does it signal any local involvement in thenews when it may not be clear otherwise?

Does it avoid names that may not be well

known? Does it avoid elements of bad taste, double

meanings, exaggeration and sensationalism?


38/41

Headline ChecklistThings to Avoid

Inappropriate language or a tone that doesn't

fit the story.

Exaggerating conflict, danger, criticism, etc.

Editorialization or words that suggest an

opinion of the head-writer.

A "negative" head using the word "not.

Conclusions the story doesn't back up.


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Inappropriate assumptions or interpretations.

Piled-up adjectives or other modifiers that detract

from clarity.

A "label head," unless omitting the verb helps thehead or the count is so short that a "book title" head

is the only way out.

Assumptions that the reader has been following the

story daily. Obscure names that readers won't instantly

recognize.


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Undue familiarity, often by using a person's first

name.

Abbreviations or acronyms that are not instantly

recognizable. Jargon, which clouds the meaning for readers.

Cliches, which are neither creative nor compelling.

Meanings the reader won't "get" until the story is

read.


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Echoing the lede or stealing the punchline.

A hard-news head based on facts far down in

the story.

Puns in heads on serious news stories.

Putting first-day heads on second-day

stories.

Using "question" or "colon" heads routinely.

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