MSTD 328

Headline Rules (from Riblet)

1. Headlines should tell something – Don’t write non-heads

2. Headlines  should not start with a verb

3. Conjunctions, prepositions and modifiers should not be placed at the end of a line. Don’t split modifiers.

4. Commas usually go at the end of a line except when describing age, as in "Boy, 4, found in woods"

5. Don’t modify modifiers

6. Don’t split parts of a very from one line to another

7. Don’t leave pronouns alone and unattended

8. Headlines should usually have a verb; if not, it should be a better head without it.

9. Hit, flay, rap, score, blast, cite, hike, set, slate – examples of the dreaded Headlinese.

10. Fill out the count. Don’t leave trapped white space.

11. Never edit without improving.

12. Cutting can improve most stories.

More Headline Rules (from www.jteacher.com )

Readers expect headlines to be direct and enlightening.

The lead of a news story summarizes the story, and the headline should summarize the lead, and it must do so in a limited amount of space. The headline should be reader-friendly, so there are some basic rules to guide the headline writer in this task.

• Headlines should emphasize, summarize and help sell the stories’ contents.

• There should be no opinion stated in a headline, with the exception of headlines for editorials and columns.

• Readers generally scan headlines very quickly to see if there is anything that they want to read about, so the most newsworthy information must be featured.

• The headline should not give information that is not given in the story.

• The headline should inform the reader through a simple declarative sentence: subject, verb, direct object.

• The best headlines are in active voice and use action verbs rather than “being verbs”

• To reflect past action, the headline should be written in present tense.

• To show future or possible action  headline should be written with the infinitive form of  verb: to + verb

• Headline writers should use “can” or “may” rather than “will” unless they are absolutely sure their predictions are accurate.

• Headlines should let the reader know who is doing what, along with other necessary Ws and H. The “when” is generally not necessary.

• Abbreviations should be avoided in headlines. Initials should be used only when the readers are familiar with what they stand for.

• The vast majority of the student body knows what school they attend, so it is not necessary to tell them repeatedly in headlines. Don’t use the name of the school or its initials in headlines.

• Avoid the use of “a”, “an”, and “the”. Eliminating these words makes room for more interesting subjects, verbs and objects.

• Headline structure should be varied. Use multi-line headlines as well as one-line headlines on news stories. For special stories and feature stories, use specialty or feature headlines.

• When writing multi-line headlines:

• Keep capitalization to a minimum. Most newspapers use down-style, that is, capitalizing only the first word in the headline and proper nouns and adjectives. All-cap headlines are difficult to read and should only be used in small doses for emphasis.

• Punctuation in headlines should be minimal:

YOUR TURN 

Write these seven heads on  a separate sheet.

2-24-1  -- With four months to go before the Iowa state caucuses on Jan. 19 officially kick off the presidential nomination race, two recent polls of likely caucus voters found that about 35 percent had yet to choose a candidate.    

2-24-1 and 1-18-3  -- The 11 federal judges who could decide the date of California's on-again, off-again recall election today are known for moderate to conservative rulings in high-profile cases. –  

3-30-1  and 1-18- 3  -- President Bush said yesterday that he is prepared to allow the United Nations to oversee the first postwar election in Iraq, a limited concession to demands that he give the world body a more vigorous role in rebuilding the country.  Bush made the offer as he prepared to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, when he plans to challenge reluctant allies to show the relevance of the world body by increasing international financial and military support for Iraq. 

4-24-1 Kicker and 1-24-3  -- On August 29, Randolph Sill headed to a Mariners game with a homemade sign decked out with slogans written in Japanese kanji, along with the number of Sill's favorite player, Ichiro Suzuki. Whenever Ichiro came up to bat, Sill would hold his sign high. Sill, who's spent time in Japan, knows Japanese television regularly broadcasts Mariners games and spotlights signs for its native son Ichiro.

Here's what Sill's sign said: On one side, the kanji read, "President Bush is a monkey's butt." On the other: "Americans are ashamed of our corrupt president." Sill, who hoped his sign would be broadcast on TV here and in Japan, says many Japanese fans at Safeco Field smiled and winked when they read his sign.

Mariners security staff, however, were not amused. When they caught on during the seventh inning, a cop escorted Sill and his sign to the security office, and seized the sign. "I haven't heard, yet, if the sign was broadcast to all of Japan," Sill says.

 

GREAT HEADLINES

 

Headlines: The Good, the bad and the ugly  

Something went wrong / in jet crash, expert says

Police begin campaign / to run down jaywalkers

Safety experts say school bus / passengers should be belted

Drunk gets nine months in violin case

Survivor of siamese twins joins parents

Farmer Bill dies in house

Iraqi head seeks arms

Is there a ring of debris around Uranus?

Stud tires out

Prostitutes appeal to Pope

Panda mating fails; Veterinarian takes over

Soviet virgin lands / short of goal again

British left waffles/ on Falkland Islands

Eye drops off shelf

Teacher strikes idle kids

Reagan wins on budget, / but more lies ahead

Squad helps dog bite victim

Shot off woman's leg / helps Nicklaus to 66

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax

Plane too close to ground, crash probe told

Miners refuse to work after death

Juvenile court to try shooting defendant

Stolen painting found by tree

Two soviet ships collide, one dies

2 sisters reunited after / 18 years in checkout counter

Killer sentenced to die for / second time in 10 years

Never withhold herpes infection from loved one

Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84

War dims hope for peace

If strike isn't settled quickly, / it may last a while

Cold wave linked to temperatures

Enfiels couple slain; / Police suspect homicide

March Planned For Next August

Blind Bishop Appointed To See

Lingerie Shipment Hijacked--Thief Gives Police The Slip

L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal By Landslide

Patient At Death's Door--Doctors Pull Him Through

Latin Course To Be Canceled--No Interest Among Students, Et Al.

Diaper Market Bottoms Out

Croupiers On Strike--Management: "No Big Deal"

Stadium Air Conditioning Fails--Fans Protest

Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped

Henshaw Offers Rare Opportunity to Goose Hunters

Women's Movement Called More Broad-Based

Antique Stripper to Display Wares at Store

Prostitutes Appeal to Pope

Teacher Strikes Idle Kids

Lawyers Give Poor Free Legal Advice

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

Fund Set Up for Beating Victim's Kin

Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years

Cancer Society Honors Marlboro Man

Nicaragua Sets Goal to Wipe Out Literacy

Autos Killing 110 a Day--Let's Resolve to Do Better

20-Year Friendship Ends at Altar

War Dims Hope For Peace

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last A While

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Half of U.S. High Schools Require Some Study for Graduation

Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn't Seen in Years