HEADLINE WRITING SKILLS

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the components and attributes required in headline writing.

Headline writing requires skill and concentration. Your headline must give the essence of the story. While explaining the story accurately, your headline also must fit into a limited space.

Some copy editors approach headline writing by looking for a key word or two that expresses the high point of the story. Then they add other words until they have a headline. Other copy editors begin by forming a sentence that contains the essential elements of the story. Then they edit out excess words (adverbs, adjectives, articles, and so forth) and minor details until all that is left is a well-tailored headline that tells the story essentials.

Headlines are written in telegraphic English, a term coined because they closely resemble the wording found inmost telegrams. While the consideration in telegrams is mostly monetary, the economical consideration of headlines is space. Therefore, headlines usually contain as the "bare bones" of language - a subject and verb. Other strong uses of telegraphic English might include subject-predicate or subject-verb-object constructions.

A straight news headline is written for a straight news story and a feature headline for a feature story. If the story is a colorful account of some event or trip, the headline should be colorful. If the story is a romantic or dramatic account of an event, the headline should follow form. If it is a human interest story with an element of pathos, the headline should not be humorous. If the story is humorous, the headline should not be pathetic.

In the following text, we will cover some of the general principles of headline construction practiced by most copy editors.

USE OF VERBS

The key to good headline writing is the use, whenever possible, of strong action verbs. Headline writers use verbs in what is sometimes called the "historical present" tense - meaning they use the present tense verb to describe action that has already happened. Primarily, this tense is used to convey a sense of immediacy, in the same way many people normally speak in the present tense to describe exciting experiences to friends. Present tense verbs contain fewer letters than do their past tense forms.

Verbs may be omitted when implied. For example, the verb "appears" is implied in the following headline:

Acadia Boatswain's Mate On 'Supermarket Sweep'

However, do not overuse this approach. Action verbs are still best for capturing a reader's attention. The verbs is and are are frequently understand. It is not necessary to use them except for clarity. The infinitive "to be" is also awkward in headlines and you should avoid using it. Note the following examples:

Poor: New pay raise is approved

Better: New pay raise approved

Poor: Halloween Dance to be held Oct. 31 at Fleet Park

Better: Halloween Dance slated Oct. 31 at Fleet Park

Do not begin a headline with a verb that might convey the imperative mood (implying a command). Note the examples that follow:

Poor: Reject new pay hike for armed forces

Good: Armed forces pay hike rejected by Congress

^Better: Congress rejects new pay hike for armed forces

To give the reader a better sense of immediacy, the verb should be in the first line of a headline whenever possible. When you can avoid it, do not place the verb in the bottom line of a three-line head.

ARTICLES

Omit all articles (a, an, the) and other unnecessary words. Note the following example:

Poor: Today's submariners are "lucky" says veteran of the USS Grant

Better: Today's submariners "lucky" says USS Grant veteran

VOICE

Use the active voice in preference to the passive voice whenever possible. Note the following examples:

Poor:

Better:

Poor: Better:

More pilots being sought for T-45 test

Navy seeks more pilots for T-45 test

Navy flight training bolstered by new T-45

New T-45s bolster Navy flight training

DECKS

Make each deck (not necessarily each line) a complete construction. Write the headline so it will stand alone and make sense, especially when you use it as the main deck. Consider the following example:

Poor: Decade of off-duty study cams degree at Memphis

_Better: Memphis chief earns law degree after decade of off-duty study

Because headlines are restricted to a small space, copy editors generally limit headlines to one specific idea expressed forcefully, rather than several ideas expressed vaguely. If space permits, editors sometimes connect two independent thoughts by a semicolon in a headline - or add another section to the headline (a second deck) - to include additional important aspects of the story.

If a story involves a plane crash that kills one crew member, injure the pilot and disrupts a training exercise, you should limit the main deck to the death. Subordinate headlines, or the story, should cover the other news.

BE SPECIFIC

As with all forms of newswriting, the use of specifics is better than generalities. Note the following headline:

Auto crash proves fatal

This headline does not contain nearly as much information as the headline that follows:

2 die as car smacks tree

BE POSITIVE

Another custom most headline writers observe is phrasing headlines in a positive, rather than in a negative manner. This is based on the principle that a newspaper is supposed to tell readers what did happen, not what did not happen.

When writing about a family that escapes injury when their car overturns and bums on a highway, a novice headline writer would probably write the following:

No one hurt in car fire

Given the same story, a good headline writer composes the following headline:

Family escapes flaming death

OPINIONS

Headlines on stories dealing with opinion should show the source of that opinion. If a story is attributed to a secondhand source, this should be reflected in the headline. Consider the following examples:

'Courts too lenient' claims parish priest

NFL players unhappy with owners' offer says arbitrator

REPEATS

You should avoid repeating words in the same headline deck. Also, watch out for similar phraseology in adjacent heads and decks. Consider the following example:

Former Abraham Lincoln journalist returns to Abraham Lincoln as public affairs officer

THE FIVE Ws

A good headline generally has the who and the what of the story in the first line, with the following lines explaining the how and why, if necessary.

People expect newspaper stories to concern events that have occurred since the previous edition was published. Therefore, the when can usually be omitted. If an event is yet to happen, however, warn the reader by the inclusion of the when through the use of the future tense or a specific day or date.

The where in a headline on a local story is generally omitted. Readers expect their newspapers to print local stories and will assume a story is local unless the dateline or headline specifies otherwise.