Headlines Font notes: Arial Black projects darker on the screen than Helvetica bold, and it is close enough to Helvetica that it doesn’t violate corporate branding guidelines.

Verbal-Visual Connection Well-written Well-designed Informational content entry point Captures & keeps readers with clever word play & specific details Reflects the dominant photo coverage Well-designed Strong visual package of headline parts Effective, creative use of typography Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: In an era of scan readers, you have a matter of seconds to grab their attention. A provocative, well-designed headline is the way to draw the reader into the content of the page. After the first impression, meaningful content will keep them reading.

Tools of the Trade Primary headline Secondary headline Captures readers’ attention with a hint of the story content Secondary headline Provides keen information & insights that dates coverage for that year Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: A primary/secondary headline package provides a 1-2 punch. You capture the reader’s attention with the primary headline and tell them what they need to know with the secondary headline. Two or three words cannot do it all.

Tools of the Trade Sub-headline Label headline Precis headline Inset into story at key information points Label headline Complementary, at-a-glance reference Precis headline Secondary headline & lead combination Specialty headline Showcased quotes & information bytes Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Load up your toolbox with a variety of tools to direct the readers’ focus. Subheads provide an overview of the content of the story and allow readers to jump to parts of the story that are appealing to them. A précis merges the secondary headline with the lead. When written well, a précis provides a clear, logical summary of the story. The writer must be sensitive to the connotations and denotations of the words in order to convey the message in a compact manner. A wide variety of possibilities remain that fall into the catch-all category of “specialty headlines.”

F i r s t & 1 0 Primary/Specialty Headline with Precis Secondary “I barely remember shoving my way through the crowd to where my mom was waiting at the ‘W’ for me. I just remember thinking that I couldn’t look at her or I would start crying. She danced the dance with me—that moment I will never ever forget,” Jeremy Chastain said. F i r s t & 1 0 A feverish pitch resonated throughout the commons and infused the crowd as senior captain Jason Chastain nervously waited to make his debut center stage to “perform” the traditional hat dance at the state championship game pep rally, November 11. For the first time in history and with unprecedented school spirit, the varsity team advanced to state playoffs winning the championship over the Central High School Tigers, 21-20. “Trust me when I tell you I was no big football fan, but there was a spirit this year from the very first pep rally until the final seconds of the state playoff game. I even performed in our class skit as ‘Underdog’ and wore red leotards and a Speedo; the crowd gave me a standing ovation. It will be my most remembered moment of the year, if not my high school life,” freshman Jeremy Chisum said. An average of 925 out of 1050 students attended 16 pep rallies including a full five days of homecoming spirit week celebrations ranging from dress-up days to a record-setting, 23-float parade. “It was nerve-wrecking being the very first person that everyone would see in the parade,” band drum major Kendra Montoya said. “Once we got about two blocks into the parade route, I was loving it. People were screaming and waving and I realized I was a part of something really important to the school and the community.” SLIDE 4- Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Labels give readers and immediate identification tool. A subheadline is buried or submerged into the copy block.

Literary Devices Clever word play enhances content Alliteration Antonym, synonym, homonym Onomatopoeia Rhyme Pun Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Although the headline design is important, nothing appeals to readers more than a well- written headline that captures their imagination. Don’t sell your readers short. They have been bombarded by headlines in the media and on- line that are specifically written to get their attention in a fraction of a second.

Snap! Take It To The Top Prime Time Literary Device // Sampler Alliteration Varsity football, cheerleaders, band Take It To The Top Snap! Prime Time Homecoming pep rally, parade boast television theme Onomatopoeia Spirit soars as football, band, cheerleaders win state champions during the fall season Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Alliteration has always been an effective emphasis technique in prose, poetry and marketing. Remember that the reader hears sound before he or she grasps meaning. Phrases like “the rockets red glare” and the “bombs bursting in air” are made memorable by the use of alliteration. (Instructor: Ask the class if they can think of famous quotes, lines from songs, etc. that effectively use alliterative techniques.) Echoing a word or phrase with synonyms or homonyms or presenting a meaningful contrast using antonyms is a way to start the reader thinking. Try to elicit the “Oh, yeah, I get it!” response. Of course, there are a few readers that will never get it. They are literal-minded readers who are hard wired into logical, sequential thinking. (They probably will never understand the appeal of poetry either.) Explain that onomatopoeia punctuates Batman comics: POW, BAM, CRUNCH, and SIZZLE. Nothing beats the not-so-subtle combination of sound and meaning. Rhyme has always captured the listener’s ear. In her memoir Out of Africa (1937), Isak Dineson tells of how she delighted people of the Kikuyu tribe by speaking in rhyme; they had never heard it before. When she stopped rhyming, the tribesmen asked her to “talk like rain” again. We hear rhyme so often that we take its impact lightly. A pun is verbal irony, the act of displacement. By using a pun, the writer draws attention to language by subtly displacing something, by putting something where it is not supposed to go. The pun is a literary device that is gauged to create a reaction. Rhyme

Writing Process List key words Focus on content angle & significance Story idea: spirited loud, noisy pep champs Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Brainstorm for key words related to the story. Consider the angle from which the story is being told. By doing this, you will set the reader in the direction the story is taking.

Writing Process Brainstorm key word rhyming words List phrases that use those rhyming words noise > boys > joys > toys let’s hear it for the boys boys will be boys joys… Toys ‘R Us Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Use a rhyming dictionary. List words that rhyme with the words generated in the first step. Next, find phrases in the idiom dictionary that use the rhyming words. (Instructor- Show the class an idiom dictionary and extol its virtues.)

Pep rallies come alive with skits, Writing Process Transition words & phases Replace rhyming words with key words to create a clever headline Explore phrases using key words cleverly noise > toys Noise R Us Pep rallies come alive with skits, cheerleaders, band, class yells Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Substitute the key word for the rhyming words or phrases.

F i r s t & 1 0 Designing Process Kicker pattern 1 line of secondary above primary Varsity wins historical state championship F i r s t & 1 0 Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: The kicker pattern may be used with times or dates if the section’s organization dictates. Also, the kicker pattern may be used as a label to identify the spread.

Take It To The Top Designing Process Wicket pattern 2 or more lines of secondary above primary Varsity football, cheerleaders, band win state championships Take It To The Top Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: The wicket pattern is great to use with an insightful quote although it is certainly not limited to it.

Noise R Us Designing Process Hammer pattern 1 or more lines of secondary below primary Noise R Us Spirit inspires team to state championship Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: The hammer design creates a familiar look. Resist the temptation to tell the whole story in the secondary headline. Save something for the feature story.

Designing Process Do A Little Dance Tripod pattern 2 or more lines of secondary beside line(s) of primary Do A Little Dance “…she danced the dance with me—that moment I will never forget.” ~Senior Jason Chastain Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: The tripod pattern is fun to write. When the secondary headline is placed to the left of the primary headline, it reads into the primary, concluding with the larger, impact words. When placed to the right, the secondary headline adds information and identification.

Editing Guidelines Refine headlines for strong appeal Keep headlines factual; no editorializing Use visual nouns & action verbs Avoid repetition of words Use a comma instead of “and” Don’t break “grammatical go-togethers” Use single quote marks in headlines Write headlines in present tense Avoid school name, initials, mascot Maintain style consistency

Headlines // Magazine Sampler Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Alliteration has always been an effective emphasis technique in prose, poetry and marketing. Remember that the reader hears sound before he or she grasps meaning. Phrases like “the rockets red glare” and the “bombs bursting in air” are made memorable by the use of alliteration. (Instructor: Ask the class if they can think of famous quotes, lines from songs, etc. that effectively use alliterative techniques.) Echoing a word or phrase with synonyms or homonyms or presenting a meaningful contrast using antonyms is a way to start the reader thinking. Try to elicit the “Oh, yeah, I get it!” response. Of course, there are a few readers that will never get it. They are literal-minded readers who are hard wired into logical, sequential thinking. (They probably will never understand the appeal of poetry either.) Explain that onomatopoeia punctuates Batman comics: POW, BAM, CRUNCH, and SIZZLE. Nothing beats the not-so-subtle combination of sound and meaning. Rhyme has always captured the listener’s ear. In her memoir Out of Africa (1937), Isak Dineson tells of how she delighted people of the Kikuyu tribe by speaking in rhyme; they had never heard it before. When she stopped rhyming, the tribesmen asked her to “talk like rain” again. We hear rhyme so often that we take its impact lightly. A pun is verbal irony, the act of displacement. By using a pun, the writer draws attention to language by subtly displacing something, by putting something where it is not supposed to go. The pun is a literary device that is gauged to create a reaction.

Headlines Font notes: Arial Black projects darker on the screen than Helvetica bold, and it is close enough to Helvetica that it doesn’t violate corporate branding guidelines.