Headlines Journalism Mr. Dudek

Headlines Rules

Telegraphic Style All extra words are trimmed. Articles like a, an and the are left out. Principal wins Nobel Prize

Verb Tense Written in the present tense to give readers a feeling of immediacy: Eagles win State Championship

Verb Tense Headlines about future events are written with infinitives to indicate future tense: 145 Seniors to Graduate Sunday

Verb Avoid parts of the verb to be, such as is, are… Use lively, active verbs 15 Seniors are Chosen 15 Seniors Chosen

Punctuation A comma is used in place of the word and Smith, Jones win scholarships

Punctuation Exclamation points are rarely used. Periods are never used, except in abbreviations. Semicolons are used in places where a period would be expected. President announces budget; Congress to vote

Punctuation Quotations should be placed within single quotes Dudek says ‘I quit’

Punctuation Colons can be used to show what a person or organization said Dudek: ‘I quit’ CPS Report: Graduation rates increase

Style Avoid splitting an infinitive. Congress to vote Sunday

Style Avoid splitting names Jim Smith, John Doe win election

Style Avoid ending a line with a preposition Martin critical of America’s laws

Style Avoid repeating a word Student Council to discuss student rights

Headlines Styles

Basic This is the Headline

Hammerhead Big on top, small on bottom is one style

Kicker This is the kicker, or overline Main Headline is here

Wicket The introductory paragraph, which may run several lines long and offer enticing facts – even quotes, leads the reader natural to the Main Headline

Read Out Get Their Attention You can expand on the attention grabber here, using just about as many words as you need the reader to get really interested.