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7/28/2019 Wk. 11.2 Headlines-Web
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Headline Writing
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Crack Found on Governor's Daughter
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Something Went Wrong in
Jet Crash, Expert Says
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Police Begin Campaign to
Run Down Jaywalkers
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Is there a ring of debris around Uranus?
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Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
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Miners Refuse to Work after Death
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Juvenile court to try shooting defendant
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War Dims Hope for Peace
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If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
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Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
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Red Tape Holds
Up New Bridges
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Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
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Astronaut Takes Blame for
Gas in Spacecraft
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Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
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Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
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Hospitals are sued by 7 foot doctors
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THE GREATEST HEADLINE
EVER WRITTEN
Headless body found in topless bar
New York Post
http://www.newyorkpost.com/http://www.newyorkpost.com/7/28/2019 Wk. 11.2 Headlines-Web
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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
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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
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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
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The Science of Headline Writing
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.
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The Science of Headline Writing
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.
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The Science of Headline Writing
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."
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The Science of Headline Writing
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.''
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The Science of Headline Writing
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.
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The Science of Headline Writing
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.''
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The Science of Headline Writing
"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.''
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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.
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John McIntyre on Headline Writing
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.
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John McIntyre on Headline Writing
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).
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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/7/28/2019 Wk. 11.2 Headlines-Web
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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?
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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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Headline ChecklistThings to Avoid
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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Headline ChecklistThings to Avoid
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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Headline ChecklistThings to Avoid
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.