An assemblage of

words written in bigger, bolder letters than the usual page text at the beginning of the news, also known as the head, but not a title.

The word headline is understood by many people to mean the biggest story of the day. In journalism however, headline is the title of a news story big or small.

 Theres no doubt headlines are one of things to get right, unfortunately they can also be the most problematic too. A good headline grabs the readers attention, and compels them to read on.

A well-written story will go unread if the headline does not grab the reader. Headlines also serve as a graphic element on the page.

Well-written headlines grab the reader's attention. They convey clear, concise thoughts while poorly written headlines mislead and confuse a reader.

 news headline deals with hard facts and summary Ex.: Business leaders tackle global crisis
feature headline deals with novelty, human interest element Ex.: The sea is on red alert! (pertains to red tide menace)

Headline Writer
1. Observes the basic rules of headline writing 2. Sees to it that the headline tells what the story is about

3. Avoids editorializing, that is, putting one's opinion in the headline. 4. Sees to it that the sizes and types of fonts used in the headline are appropriate.

 Headline summarizes the story. It highlights the main elements of the story. It is not label. It tells readers what kind of story it is as well as what the story is about.

It allows the hurried reader to get a quick glimpse of the news. Later in the day, when he has the time, he will read the story in its entirety.

 Headline helps organize the news for readers. It shows where one story ends and the next one begins, serving as a visual cut-off rule.

 Contributes to the physical attractiveness of the paper.

 Headline sells the story to the readers. It is like bait in that it should lure readers into the lead. The lead should then hook the reader into finishing the story. As they say in advertising, Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

 Headline prioritizes the news for readers. Stories with big headlines are generally more important than stories with smaller headlines. Stories which go across one or two columns are less important than those which go across three, four, five or six columns.

 Headlines reflect the style and personality of the newspaper. Style is reflected in the publications standing heads and logos, the type style used and the way headlines are displayed. Personality is reflected in the way editors and writers look at the news and how they employ humor, wit and cleverness.

1. The headline presents the news in capsule, thus it is telegraphic. 2. It must contain the most important, the most intriguing, the most unusual fact of the story. It is not the place for details.

3. The head is an advertisement, and like all good advertisements it should be honest, holding out no promise that the story does not fulfill. It should be based on the facts as set forth in the story and nothing else.

4. Like the story, the head should be simple . The head is a mosaic. Words must be fitted into a certain fixed space, in such a way that the meaning will not be obscured. This is the head writer's chief problem to meet the mechanical requirements of the head and at the same time make the thought so plain.

5. Get action into the head. Make the head a statement of fact, not a mere label. Never say "Shocking Accident " or Terrible Fire," but tell what happened as specifically as possible. Try to get a verb in the head, either ex-pressed or implied.

6. Heads are usually written in the present tense unless they relate to a future event. This is the historical present, used instead of the past tense for the sake of greater vividness.

On the contrary there are occasions when it would be absurd to use anything else. The copy reader would write, " William Smith Dies " or " William Smith is Dead," but in giving details of the dead man's life it would be manifestly foolish to say, " Is Born in Maryland," Is a civil war veteran

7. The headline makes use of special vocabulary which is not suitable for ordinary communication situations. For example: the word stude is headline equivalent for student as in Four studes win in quiz bee However, it is not acceptable to say there are 2,000 studes in our school.

 Alliteration occasionally may be used with good effect in a head, but unintentional alliteration as " Commercial Club Considers Cleaning Contracts " should be avoided. Slang, unless apt and timely, has no greater justification in the head than in the story

 Another style of head discouraged or forbidden altogether by some papers is the unintentional imperative. This is a head beginning with a verb in the third person plural form, which may be read as an injunction to do something " Kill Thirty Men" may be the head on a story of an insurrection. It means, of course, " Marines Kill Thirty Men,"

Trite phrasing should be avoided in the head whenever possible .

" Score" and "probe" and " rap " are handy words for the copy reader because of their brevity and are liable to overuse. The head that contains wornout expressions or that fails to get anywhere is, in the office vernacular, wooden. Woodenness is an unpardonable sin. Try to give the head a swing and an element of originality.

Avoid negative statements in the head.

Tell what happened rather than what didn't happen, unless a negation is the feature of the story.

Other things being equal, the active voice is better than the passive. Pacman Defeats Hitman " is preferable to " Hitman Is Defeated by Pacman"

 Dont use the articles- a, an, the

Wrong: A fire hits the squatters Correct: Fire hits squatters area

Dont use names unless the person is well-known Wrong: Simon electrocuted Correct: Electrician electrocuted

Avoid unintended double meanings:

Actor sent to jail for not finishing sentence

 Put an action verb, expressed or implied, in every headline:

 Do not begin with a verb, preposition, article or conjunction. Beginning with a verb turns the headline into a command, which usually results in an unintended meaning:

Eat right before surgery

or
Kill bill, says Newt

 Avoid the verb form to be. In most cases, a more suitable verb can be substituted.

Weak: Matson to be at D.C. conference Better: Matson to speak in D.C. next week

 Use present tense verbs in writing headlines describing past events. Past tense is appropriate on occasion, but a majority of headlines are written in present tense because it is easier to understand and it uses fewer words:

 Use future tense verbs to write headlines about future events:

House to start hearings on disease outbreaks

 Use the -ing verb form to write headlines about events that are happening at the time the newspaper is distributed:

Bank of America merging with Nation Bank

 Use numbers in headlines only if they are important. Avoid starting a headline with a number. When numbers appear in a headline, they should be written as figures:

12 Americans killed in embassy bombings

 Abbreviate the month only when a specific date follows it:

October time for ancient rites and > Halloween dance on Oct. 31

 Substitute a comma for the conjunction and:

Gang member tells of violence, killing

Use single quote marks in place of double quote marks in a headline:

Sims, Venables land Wizard of Oz leads

 Dont split a verb phrase:

Delegates chosen to go to Youth Legislature

Dont split a preposition and its object:

Belfast man charged for Harrods bomb

 Dont separate an adjective and

the noun it modifies:

Ex. >

Seniors to hold spaghetti dinner fundraiser next week

 Use abbreviations only if they are wellknown. When initials are used, do not use spaces or periods between letters.

KBP kicks its way into spotlight GMA declares Friday National Day of celebration

 fit into space must know the font size of letters must know the head unit count must know the number of decks (layers of headline) must know the number of columns (one, two, three, four etc.)

 The verb is said to be in the active voice when the doer of the action is in the subject position. ACTIVE Voice is preferred over the PASSIVE voice because it is more vigorous; however, the PASSIVE voice must be used when the action is more significant than the doer of the action.

Exercise 1: Write the correct form of the verb in the following headlines. Observe agreement between subject and the verb.

CA ______ (deny) Levistes petition for bail World pirate attacks ____(soar) in first quarter Noli _____(hail) Syria as RP strategic partner Shell, Petron _______ (raise) gas prices SC ______ (uphold) oil deregulation law Senate resolution _____ (eye) workers incentive PNP ______(gear) up for swine flu outbreak Health experts _______(gauge) flue outbreak

Cont >>> Write the correct form of the verb in the following headlines. Observe agreement between subject and the verb.

Fishermen _______(stage) Earth Day protest Rotary Club ________(donate) computers COMELEC ______(proclaim) 32 party list bets Failon _________(appeal) for privacy Cuadra ______(cop) 3 National awards Researcher _________(receive) US grant New AFP chief ______(vow) to end insurgency RP, Spain _________ (ink) accord Pacquaio-Hatton fight ____ (carve) ring history

Exercise 2: Write the correct form of the verb in the passive voice:

Alleged NPA hitman _______ (kill) Two jail guards caught gambling _____ (fire) Resto owner ______ (sue) Governor _______(probe) for P72M deficit Jueteng protectors in CL _______(identify) Scout master _____(kill) in camp site Shanties in Quiapo _______(demolish) Absentees _______(warn) of expulsion Parents of honor studes ______(cite) 4 holduppers ______ (nab) in Tondo

Does the headline express the main idea of the story? Does the headline effectively label the story's content?
Will it create reader interest?

Will it move readers into the story? Does the headline focus match the lead focus? Are the words short, common, colorful, powerful, specific? Would you read a story with this headline?

15 Ways to improve your headlines

Use active voice Man bites dog Use present tense ..Robber flees (not fleed)
Avoid abbreviations ..Actor wins trip to LV Use short words Panel or Group Committee Be specific .Editor wins award Make positive statements .Pacquiao to win the fight Dont repeat key word ..Bank ousts banks chair

15 Ways to improve your headlines

* Be accurate State facts with attribution * Avoid punctuation as much as possible * Avoid to be words delete is-are helping verbs Be impartial Words can color headline watch for denies or claims

congressman ...solon decrease . dip examination quiz announce .bare highlight ..cap speak urge conference ...confab investigation probe investigator ..prober disapprove buck, scrap

 dismiss .quash dispute .... row charge rap strengthen... beef up agreement . Accord practice hone up sign .ink praise laud question .grill year .milestone urge prod delay snag mad killer ..amok identify .finger capture ...net start ..trigger disregard rule out end ...wind up

 lessen-----------allay approval --------nod arrest -----------nab student ---------student writer -----------scribe government ----govt councilor --------dad

j i l t f -------- unit ? --------------1 unit all figures ---1 unit dash (-) -----1

J I L T F ----------1 space ------------- 1 all small letters-- 1 small m & w -- 1 M & W -----------2 all caps except MWJ I LT F--1

42 points - 3 cols. (21) max. count ___________________________ ___________________________(no. of decks)

Race Bias in Schools -20 unit counts Described as Stupid -19.5 unit counts

drop-line (like a staircase) XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX hanging indention (top line flush at right) XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX inverted pyramid (from wide to narrow) XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXX

flush-left (begin at left hand corner) XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX block (flush left and right, from margin to margin) XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX cross-line (one-line headline) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Two people died and five others were hurt when an unidentified man lobbed a fragmentation grenade along Baguio Citys Leonard Wood Road shortly before dawn Tuesday, a police official said.

_______________________________________

The Philippine government will repatriate some Filipinos who were affected by the earthquake in Italy early this month, according to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Carmelita Dimzon.

__________________________ Whoever becomes the next president of the country will face a bigger economic burden. Former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno yesterday warned that the next president will be inheriting from the Arroyo administration a weaker economy and higher unemployment.

________________________________________

MANILA, Philippines A downpour at around noon on Wednesday caused floods ranging from thigh- to gutter-deep in several areas across Metro Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported.

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MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Spain signed three agreements on assistance for health reform efforts in the Bicol and Caraga regions.

The only way to learn how to write heads, after one knows the general principles, is to write them.

Headline writing is like learning to play a musical instrument -the more you practice, the easier it gets and the better you become.