Writing Headlines For Stories

Read the following page and then write a 2 paragraph summary about what it takes to write good headlines

Writing strong headlines takes practice and a good sense of language. Here are a few tips to get you started:
* Pay attention to your verbs.

They should be strong words, in active voice (not passive) and (usually) in present tense.

BOO: Gas prices are up significantly
YAY: Gas prices jump above $2.50

* Be specific. What makes this story interesting and unique?

Notice how the previous example is improved not only by the stronger verb but also by the specific price info.

Some editors call headlines that offer nothing but generic ho-hum information "woodenheds." Other editors refer to them as MEGO headlines, for "My Eyes Glaze Over." Neither term is a compliment.
* Emphasize what was said or done rather that who said or did it.

BOO: Regents predict tuition to increase
YAY: Expect tuition increase, regents say

Generally, headlines tell what did happen or will happen rather than what did not or will not occur.

* Draw on information relatively high in the story, but don't parrot the lead.

If the reader has to read way into the story to see how it relates to the headline, the headline is misleading (or the story needs to be rewritten ... or both).

If the reader reads the same thing in the headline and the lead, the headline is redundant.

* End lines only in appropriate spots. Avoid splitting phrases -- words that belong together because readers comprehend them as a single linguistic unit.

Common phrases that should go on the same line of a headline if possible include prepositional phrases; modifiers and the word they modify; compound nouns; and compound verbs. (This is harder than it sounds, especially in narrow, multi-line headlines.)

BOO (split prepositional phrase):

Police search for
robbery suspect

YAY:

Robbery suspect
eludes capture

BOO (split compound verb):

UI tuition likely to
rise, regents predict

YAY (well, not great, but still better):

UI tuition increase
likely, regents say

BOO (adjective split from its noun):

House passes gas
tax on to Senate

YAY:

Gas tax heads
for Senate vote

Follow headline punctuation norms:

* Normal punctuation (such as commas) within headline. Use semi-colons to separate independent clauses.
Example: Diaper saves baby from bullet; gunmen flee

* No periods at the end of the headline. (But do use a question mark if appropriate.)

* Single, not double, quotation marks (if appropriate).

... as well as norms of word usage:

* Commas replace the word "and."

* Articles ("a," "an," "the") are omitted.

* "To be" verbs ("are," "is") are omitted.
You know how bad spelling or grammatical errors look in body text?

They look exponentially worse in headlines!
Good tip: Read your headline out loud.
Headlines should match the tone of the story (serious, light-hearted, whatever), as well as the tone of the publication overall.

Just as you would avoid a bad pun in a crime story, you wouldn't put a frivolous headline on a piece about a robbery -- or a tuition increase.

In general, particularly when you're starting out, play the headline straight on news stories. Feature stories and some sports stories are better places to experiment with more creative word play.
Inevitably, you will come up with the perfect headlines -- only to find it doesn't fit the space available for it. Your options are:

* Go with a different idea altogether.

* Look for shorter (or, less commonly, longer) words so it fits.

How do you know if a headlines fits? The best way is to "count" it.

NOW YOU TRY

Try and Create your own headlines for the following stories

STORY 1: ATLANTA (AP) -- Consumers should throw away certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter after the spread was linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people around the country, ConAgra said.

Lids of jars produced by ConAgra Foods with a product code beginning "2111" can be returned to the company for a refund, the company said.

The salmonella outbreak, which federal health officials said Wednesday has sickened 288 people in 39 states since August, was linked to tainted peanut butter produced by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga. How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, said Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ConAgra officials haven't said how much peanut butter is covered in the recall, which it called a precaution.

"We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products," spokesman Chris Kircher said.

CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation's first associated with peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.

About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths, Lynch said. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.

Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.

STORY 2: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis began a sluggish move to the launch pad on Thursday in preparation for a mid-March mission to continue construction of the international space station.

The shuttle started the 3.4-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building aboard the massive crawler-transporter vehicle at 8:19 a.m. The trip was expected to last six hours.

Atlantis is set to launch on March 15 for the first space shuttle mission of the year. The six-man crew will deliver a new segment and a pair of solar arrays that will be used to power the space station.

NASA is hoping to launch four or five space shuttle missions this year, the most ambitious schedule since 2002.

STORY 3: PORT ST. LUCIE — A local mom hopes her efforts to persuade state lawmakers to clarify what constitutes emotional child abuse will result in a bill for the state legislature to vote on this year - but she faces a looming deadline to find a sponsor in the state Senate.

Port St. Lucie resident Jodi Walsh has been on a mission for more than a year to raise awareness about what she says are deficiencies in state law about what defines mental injury and emotional abuse, as opposed to physical abuse. In the past months, she's racked up more than 9,000 minutes on her cellphone, driven back and forth to Tallahassee several times and formed a nonprofit organization called Childs Cry For Help.

She's garnered the support of state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, who is working on a draft bill and wants to file it this week. But Walsh said Tuesday the draft bill needs a sponsor in the state Senate by Friday to keep the issue alive this legislative session.

"We've had some problems securing a Senate sponsor, but I have a lot of hope," she said. "I'm not giving up."