Headlines

Journalism I

Luring the reader intoThe story!

Here is a list of terms you will see in the presentation

Write them down now.

CENTERED FLUSH LEFT FLUSH RIGHT

HAMMER HEAD KICKER OVERLINE

WICKET READ-OUT HEAD READ-IN HEAD

TRIPOD UP STYLE DOWN STYLE

Do’s and Don’ts of HeadlinesTelegraphic Style

Headline style is telegraphic. That is, all extra words are trimmed. The articles a, an and the are usually left out, as shown here:

School Wins High State Rating

Do’s and Don’ts of HeadlinesVerb Tenses

Headlines are written in present tense to give readers a feeling of immediacy:

Tigers Defeat Tech 7-0

Occasionally a story about something historic will come up, and then the past tense is acceptable:

Volcano Erupted 50 Years Ago Today

Headlines about future events are written with infinitives (a verb form that functions as a noun) to indicate future tense, this way:

360 Seniors to Graduate Sunday

Do’s and Don’ts of Headlines

Punctuation

Usually only three marks are used: the COMMA, the QUOTATION MARK and the SEMICOLON.

A comma used in place of the word and, like this:Smith, Jones Win Scholarships

Whenever part of a headline is enclosed in quotes, to save space a single quote (‘) is used, not a double quote (“)

Exclamation points are used rarely – and then only for good reason. Their value is debased if they are used often. The period is never used except in abbreviations such as U.S. The semicolon is used wherever a period would otherwise be appropriate.

President Announces Freeze; Congress to Discuss it

Do’s and Don’ts of HeadlinesStylistic Considerations

Most newspapers prefer not to use headlines that split infinitives or names. It is also not acceptable for a line to end with a preposition. Each line should be a coherent unit by itself.

Many newspapers use a down style – that is all letters except proper nouns and the first letter of the first word in lower case. Up style, is when every word except articles and prepositions in caps.

Use alliteration sparingly. A little of this: Tigers Tame Tech Team – goes a long way. The same is true of verse. Unless it is REALLY GOOD, toss it out.

AVOID ALL CAP HEADLINES! ALL CAPS ARE DIFFICULT TO READ AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE YELLING AT THE READER AND ALL CAPS ARE VERY HOSTILE AND CAN PSYCHOLOGICALLY AFFECT YOUR READER’S PERCEPTION OF YOUR STORY.

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

I am a Centered Headline!

I am a Flush

Left Headline! I am a Flush

Right Headline!

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

Hammerhead HeadlinesBig on top, small on bottom

The hammer is used for important stories where the primary headline receives the most attention. Note the contrasting style. If one line is set in bold (should be the primary) the other can be set in italics or set out in a different way.

An example of a Hammerhead!

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

This is a kicker – or OVERLINE

The Primary Headline is Indented

The kicker features one secondary headline over one or more lines of the primary headline. The kicker can be used when the writer wishes to feature a single word of phrase as the main title and add more specific information in the secondary (the top) headline.

Examples of a kicker!

A craze makes a comeback

Hula hoops are on a roll

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

The introductory paragraph, which may run several lines long and offer enticing facts, leads the reader naturally to the

Wicket Headline

In the Wicket, several lines of type – up to about six – are used as a superleade or introduction. A one-line headline set in a contrasting type follows, serving more as a magazine style title than a headline.

Headline Styles

Tripod: This is a combination of the primary and secondary head. The primary is printed in large type and balanced against the twoline secondary head, printed in smaller type.

Students Master Art of Cutting it CLOSE

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

I Grab Your Attention HereThen I expand on that in a longer deck (any one level of a headline) using just about as many words as I need to get you (the reader) really interested. Some publications actually use the lead as a sort of deck, placed like this.

This is called a Read-out head. You read the headline – then you read out of it and directly into the story. If you want, you could switch these around…

Headline Styles

Headlines are typeset in various ways:

(Typeset: written or textual matter set in type)

And use a phrase that leads the readerto a word that capture’s the story’s primary

Topic

This is called a Read-in head. You read right into the headline.