WHAT IS HEADLINE AND ITS FUNCTIONS HOW TO MAKE HEADLINES

Headline Functions

An editor’s first task is to correct and refine the copy. The second task is to write a headline that:

1. Attract the reader’s attention

2. Summarises the story

3. Helps the reader index the contents of the page

4. Depicts the mood of the story

5. Helps set the tone of the newspaper

 These are the major functions of headlines. Not every headline can accomplish each one of these tasks, but editors who write headlines with these goals in mind will write better headlines than those who ignore them.

Good headlines attract the reader’s attention to stories that otherwise may be ignored. The day’s best story may have little or no impact if the headline fails to sell it or attract the reader’s attention. Headlines attract attention in many ways, but often they do so by focusing on how the reader’s life will be affected.

Example: If the district council has approved a budget of Rs300 million for the next fiscal year, one approach is to headline the story:

District council approves Rs300 million budget

Another approach, which does a better job of selling the story, might be this:

Property tax rate to remain unchanged

Or

100% increase in water tariff

These two headlines answer questions the reader is most likely to ask about the district council’s budget: How will it affect me?

Some headlines attract attention because of the magnitude of the event they address:

Earthquake in Iran kills 20,000

Others attract attention because the headline is clever or unusual:

Rawalpindi needs a pied piper

Most headlines that appear over news stories are designed to inform, not entertain, so the headline that simply summarises the story as concisely and accurately as possible is the bread and butter of the headline writer:

US, China to sign major grain deal

Such headlines seldom win prizes for originality and prompt readers to write letters of praise. But a newspaper full of headlines that get right to the point is a newspaper that is easy to read. The reader knows that what the story is about and can make an intelligent decision about whether to read more.

If the headlines on a page do a good job of summarising the stories, the editors have created for their readers a form of index to the page. This also helps the reader determine what to read and what to bypass.

The headline also sets the mood for the story. The straightforward news headline indicates that the story it accompanies is a serious one. Similarly, a headline above a feature should reflect its content:

You are what you eat

Setting the mood is even more important when writing headlines for features.

Headlines probably reveal as much about the tone or character of a newspaper as anything it contains. If the top story on a page is headlined Elizabeth Taylor marries again and the second story carries the headline Pop star held for possessing drugs, there can be little doubt about the nature of the publication.

 The headline writing process

Readers read the headline first, then the story. Editors work in reverse; they first read the story, then write the headline. This often leads to confusing headlines because editors mistakenly assume that if readers will only read the story they will understand what the headline is trying to convey. But except in rare cases deliberately designed to tease the reader, the headline must be instantly clear. In most cases, the reader will not read a story simply to find out what the headline means.

 Headline writing, then, involves two critical steps:

1. Selecting which details to use

2. Paraphrasing them properly within the space available

 The editor exercises editorial judgement in completing the first step in the process. Most use the ‘Key Word Method’ in which the editor asks: Which words must be included in the headline to convey to the reader the meaning of the story? In its simplest form, this involves answering the question: Who does what?

Tornado strikes Miami

That done, the editor tries to make the headline fit. Synonyms may be necessary to shorten the phrase, and more concise verbs may help:

Twister rips Miami

That, in simplest form, is the essence of headline writing.

 Headline rules

 Use the present tense: Most news concerns past events. But to give the effect of immediacy (the quality that makes the news seems as if it is happening now, close to you and is therefore important, urgent. For example, the immediacy of the problem or threat. Newspapers lack the immediacy of television), the headline uses the present tense for past events:

Opposition strike call gets lukewarm response in twin cities

Fauji Foundation College holds lively debate on price hike

If, however, the headline announces a future event in the past tense, the reader won’t know whether the event has occurred or will occur. Murder eyewitness tells everything in court means that the murder eyewitness has testified in the court of law. But if the reader learns from the story that the testimony will not be given until the following day, the reader knows that the headline is misleading. The headline should have read Murder eyewitness to tell everything in court. The present tense can never be used if the date is included on a past event: Rangeela dies Wednesday. On future events the headline may use ‘will be,’ ‘to be’ or the present: Book exhibition opens tomorrow.

 Punctuate headlines correctly: The period (full stop) is never used in headlines except after abbreviations. Instead of full quotation marks, use single quotation marks, which take less space. The comma (,) may replace ‘and,’ and a semicolon (;) or colon (:) may be used to break a headline: Appointments on executive posts: court issues notices to finance ministry officials. Unless it is a last resort, neither the dash (‑) nor the colon (:) should be used as a substitute for ‘says’.

PPP will win elections, says Benazir (It should be used)

PPP will win elections: Benazir (It should be used as a last resort)

 Use abbreviations sparingly: Few beginning headline writers have escaped the abbreviation addiction. It occurs when the writer tries to cram too much into the headline. Headline writers frequently overestimate the ability of readers to understand the initials used in the headlines. Some are easily understood such as CDA, FBI, CIA and BBC. Others aren’t, such as MLCD. On many newspapers the style calls for abbreviations and acronyms without periods in headlines. Other newspapers use periods for two-letter abbreviations, including U.S. and U.N. but TV is a frequent exception.

Acronym: A word formed from the first letters of the words that make up the name, for example ‘Aids’ is an acronym for ‘acquired immune deficiency syndrome’ and ‘Wapda’ for ‘water and power development authority’.

 

Use correct grammar: Although headline writers must constantly compress statements, they have no licence to abuse the language. A grammatical error in 48-point size may be more embarrassing than half dozen language errors buried in the story. One headline read: Woman reports she is robbed by man posing as inspector. The present ‘reports’ is correct. However, the second verb should be ‘was’ to show that she is reporting a previous event. A standing rule on use of proper names in headlines is that the names should be instantly recognisable to most readers. Editors who can’t catch spelling errors have no place in the newsroom. They are a menace if they repeat the errors in the headline, as in these:

Rodeo (a public contest, especially in the US, in which cowboys show their skill at riding wild horses and catching cattle with ropes) parade has mayor as marshall (marshal is a person responsible for making sure that public events, especially sports events, take place without any problem, and for controlling crowds)

Kidnap victim trys to identify captors

 

Avoid Slang: A straight headline that tells the reader precisely what happened is always better than one in which the writer resorts to slang. Slangs in headlines, as well in the copy, lowers the reputation of the newspaper.

 

Avoid word repetition; Another restriction on headline writing is that major words in the headline cannot be repeated except for effect in a feature head. The rule is intended to prevent obvious padding. Such as Polio teams to administer anti-polio drops to children today.

 

Watch for libel: Because of the strong impression a headline may make on a reader, a headline may be actionable even though the story under the head is free of libel.

Libel: The act of printing a statement about somebody that is not true and that gives people a bad opinion of them. He sued the newspaper for libel.

The headline writer must understand that a person is presumed innocent of any crime charged until proved guilty by a court of law. Headlines that proclaim Kidnapper caught, Blackmailer exposed, Robber arrested and Spy caught have the effect of convicting the suspects before they have been tried by the court.

If unnamed masked gunmen hold up a liquor store owner and escape with Rs500,000 cash, the headline may refer to them as ‘robbers’ or ‘gunmen’.

Later, if two men arrested in connection with the robbery as suspects or are actually charged with the crime, the headline cannot refer to them as ‘robbers’ but must use a qualifier: Police question robbery suspect. For the story on the arrest the headline should say: Two arrested in robbery and not Two arrested for robbery. The first is a shortened form of ‘in connection with’ while the second one makes them guilty.

The headline Three women arrested in prostitution should be changed to Three women charged with prostitution.

 Never jump to conclusions: Even the more carefully edited papers are sometimes guilty of printing headlines that jump to conclusions. This was illustrated in the stories concerning the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald was branded the assassin even though, technically, he was merely arrested on a charge of murder.