Headline rules

Draw headline from top of story Build headline around key words Include a subject and verb (verb may be implied) Maintain neutrality Observe grammar and usage rules Eliminate articles (a, an, the) Avoid adjectives and adverbs Dont repeat lead Arouse readers interests Abbreviate sparingly Verify accuracy: Find headline in the story Verify point size, length, lines Use short words but avoid headlinese (eye, rap, nix, probe) Tell what happened Use present tense and active voice when possible Dont link present tense with date in past (John Doe dies yesterday) Use to for future events (Congress to meet) Never exaggerate. Never begin headline with a verb (Passes welfare bill) Dont pad: Do say something Dont use names unless well-known Dont use is and are Dont split nouns and modifiers, prepositions and objects and verb forms Use single quote marks Dont write question headlines. Use semicolons for a full stop (in place of period) Use a comma to replace and Use dash and colon to replace says only as last resort. Watch for libel (Doctor kills child; Kidnapper caught) Emphasize the positive when possible Dont state the obvious Dont bore reader Capture main idea Avoid bad puns, bad taste and slang; watch for double meanings
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Real Newspaper Headlines

POLICE BEGIN CAMPAIGN TO RUN DOWN JAYWALKERS DRUNK GETS NINE MONTHS IN VIOLIN CASE SURVIVOR OF SIAMESE TWINS JOINS PARENTS FARMER BILL DIES IN HOUSE IRAQI HEAD SEEKS ARMS STUD TIRES OUT PROSTITUTES APPEAL TO POPE PANDA MATING FAILS; VETERINARIAN TAKES OVER SOVIET VIRGIN LANDS SHORT OF GOAL AGAIN TEACHER STRIKES IDLE KIDS SQUAD HELPS DOG BITE VICTIM SHOT OFF WOMANS LEG HELPS NICKLAUS TO 66 ENRAGED COW INJURES FARMER WITH AX JUVENILE COURT TO TRY SHOOTING DEFENDANT STOLEN PAINTING FOUND BY TREE TWO SOVIET SHIPS COLLIDE, ONE DIES NEVER WITHHOLD HERPES INFECTION FROM LOVED ONE DRUNKEN DRIVERS PAID $1,000 IN 84 WAR DIMS HOPE FOR PEACE IF STRIKE ISNT SETTLED QUICKLY, IT MAY LAST AWHILE COLD WAVE LINKED TO TEMPERATURES MAN IS FATALLY SLAIN

Inside Headlines
By Maria Rocha The Modesto Bee Hard News Heds 1. Take a moment Stop and think for a few moments about what the real gist of the story is and what stays with you after you read it. A lot of times the lead says a detail that happened that day, but the larger picture gets buried in the last leg nut graph. Other times the lead has a standard phrase about violence or war on terrorism, but what really makes an impact is a detail that illustrates, puts it in perspective. Generic overviews are fine, but if its just too much like yesterdays hed, try using the detail. Check whats on front If the thrust of the head doesnt make sense until after the jump, theres probably something wrong with how the story is put together. Im not a big fan of holding the point until youve waded through 12 inches of creative writing class templates and heart-throbbing anecdotes before we let the reader know this all came from a meeting the reporter sat through last Tuesday. Play off the lede Pick a keyword and build from it. This is not the same as copying the lede, which should be avoided. In instances of extremely tough counts over wire stories, where the key wording of the lede says it the only way it fits, or the lede could be improved and its not local, so no ones clipbook will be marred or psyche scarred, I have on rare occasions changed the phrasing of the lede. The same is true with a nut graph further on. The hed is what draws the reader in. It gets the best. Addressing jumpheds With a tight word count on the front, sometimes the jumphed is your best bet to really say whats going on in the story. Its also a time to use that clever twist of phrase that just wouldnt fit on the front. Try to work on the jumphed as a separate thing. Repeating the main head or referring to something on the front leaves the reader with dj vu a feeling that its pointless to read on. A little alliteration Just two words of alliteration can ease the flow of a headline. Any more is usually hokey and detracts from the news sense of a head. Follow ups and common occurrences The case of the pointless story or many-pointed story is particularly a problem with stories that have follow-ups running almost daily, or stories that a publication simply
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Inside Headlines, continued runs a lot of yet another drunken driver runs into a tree, council passes huge development, heat in summer, etc. Tips for getting past the blah headline: Start by reading the whole story. Sit a moment to try to focus on a single thought that percolates up. Picture yourself telling a friend about the story what would you say? If nothing much happened yet is the point, try a headline with a longer view X moved one step closer today. 7. Curse of clichs Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, but programs dont have to launch, drug neighborhoods dont have to be plagued. Thats true in the story as well. We tend to read over the top of stereotyped leads Ethnic violence broke out in the streets of _______ today must be a hot-key on every AP keyboard. Yes, its a common story, unfortunately, but we should at least be aware that were making it mundane, commonplace, basically beige.

---------------------------------------------------Feature or Good-news Heds 1. A fresh twist on old clichs A turn of phrase in a new way catches the eye, engages the brain. However, if it misses the point of the story, then its just straining to be cute. It has to work content-wise with the clich you hear in your head, and the new configuration, to be valid. Moreover, be aware of the gut-feel of the clich if its a sentimental clich, this had better be a sweet story, or a conscious contrast. If youre stuck, pick the key word and run through the alphabet to find different sound-alike words to switch. Again, it doesnt actually give you one often, it is just a way to get past the block. Dont fall in love My worst heads were ones I got so set on the perfect idea that I worked and worked until I warped something into the count if it just isnt working, throw it out completely and start over. Theme words Going with a metaphor can be more than getting up to bat and slamming one home it can be a story about the ocean that uses all sorts of flow, swirl, splash or even fishy or wavy slants in its hed and especially deck hed. Just dont mix metaphors. Find the rhythm Soft, sultry vs. crisp, clipped. Words have a rhythm, a nuance if they dont, theyre blah and unworthy of your masterful big blobbo headline. Use that in-your-head tongue-rolling its the creative juice that finesses many a great hed or just says Yep, thats it.
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Inside Headlines, continued 5. Let it bubble up After reading a great feature, I ponder a moment, waiting for key connections to filter into conscious thought. Sometimes theres a word thats double meaning fits more than one thread within the story the online game market is virtually unlimited OK, its a hackneyed clich, but it works on both levels. Stereotypes as shorthand Say divorcee claims and youve said volumes in a tight count. Radical, fundamentalist, all those labels and judgment words can be occasionally useful when you want an image quick. Having decried clichs before, Im now saying they do have their uses but do it purposefully, with full knowledge that youre attempting to summon a stereotype. Dull words as beige fill Those words you read over the top of said, the, white, study are the glue that sticks the sentence together. Such nondescript words can be useful, too. Just like a page cant take a half dozen impact heds, a head shouldnt have too many focus points. Sometimes you need to pick your two key ingredients and let the beige words (or even creamy or vanilla words) fill between. Switching a words use Many words function as nouns sometimes, verbs or adjectives in other sentences. If theres an obligatory key word Boy catches big fish sometimes it can be tweaked to give a fresh twist Boy fishing for record.

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Head-aches
Already forgetting the headline rules? Heres a refresher. 1. Do not repeat. Do not repeat. Do not repeat. Do not repeat words from other headlines on the page. Do not repeat words from the headline in the subhead. Do not repeat, parrot or steal from the lead, especially if it uses very creative words or language. Using a common word such as fire is one thing, but lifting a cute phrase or clever word instead of finding one of your own is lazy. 2. Line breaks This is not just cosmetic. Trying to confine one idea per line helps the reader quickly understand a story and decide to read on. Never end a line with a hyphen. No: Rescuers work overYes: Overtime effort reflects time to save miners urgency of mine rescue Do not end first line with a preposition. No: Bush lands in West Virginia Yes: Campaign lands in West Virginia

Do not split adjective and its noun, adverb and its verb, or pronoun and its noun between lines. No: Debaters trip Yes: Slippery slope on slippery trips debaters slope at MJC at MJC contest No: County fair runs smoothly until teens throw eggs Mayor spells out his vision for Los Banos Yes: Fair runs smoothly until Modesto teens throw eggs at band Mayor outlines vision for growing Los Banos

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3. Whats new? Be sure to aim for what is new in any story. See what the publication has run in the past few days and dont repeat it. Always challenge yourself: Have we already said this? What is new here? If its not breaking news, dont give it a breaking news style, make it a second-day approach. First day: Twister kills 30, injures dozens in Alabama Second day: Second day: Alabama picks up after twister moves North Tornado sirens failed, Alabama mayor says
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Head-aches, continued 4. Fill the space Headlines, decks, jumpheads, cutlines, etc. should fill out the lines as much as possible. Do not write them more than three characters short on any line. Short lines look the worst on the bottom lines of the headlines. 5. Abbreviations Dont use periods in city names (except D.C.). Do use periods in state names (like N.J.). Do use periods to abbreviate terms such as M.D. for doctor of medicine and A.A. for associate of arts degree. In general, follow APs rule about two-word abbreviations. But do not use periods in shortened terms such as OT or KO. 6. Acronyms Dont use acronyms that arent widely known. Limit use of even the best known acronyms to avoid alphabet soup. 7. Jumpheads Strive to include something new, preferably from the jump portion of the story. Do not simply repeat the headline on the front part. This is another chance to get someone to read the story if they didnt start reading it on the cover, so make the most of it. 8. Cutlines Same deal as jumpheads. Dont repeat the headline or the story lead! Look on every piece of display type as another chance to hook the reader. Also, try to do more than describing the action in the photo, particularly if the action is dull or obvious. If the photo is of a school on fire, dont be satisfied to say XXX school burns Tuesday. Add something else from the story. Is the cause known? How badly is it damaged? Will school open the next day? But do not cut-and-paste details from the story. Rephrase them.