Thursday and Friday. Let's start out with some poorly written headlines. Take a look at this site, noting exactly what is wrong with each headline.http://www.oddee.com/item_96156.aspx
Now read the following information carefully; you will be applying this information to a series of headlines and finally writing some headlines of your own.
• HEADLINES
Making an impact — accurately
Apply the following rules when writing headlines.
1. The best way to write a good headline is to keep it simple and direct. Be clever only when being clever is called for. Puns are good, but only on “punny” stories.
Examples of good headlines.
1. Jaycees do windows
2. Gates admits mistake
3. U.S. rips Ryder Cup from Europeans' grasp
4 Dr. Seuss, man of rhyme and reason, dies at 87
5. Kicker headline- a headline atop the main headline
SCARLET FEVER
World ready for 'Gone with the Wind' sequel
6. Halloween scares up snow across much of Kansas
7 (on a story about a lecture on “10 Great Myths about Men”)
Excuse me, myth, but men aren't really like that
8. New burger targeted for McLean times
9 It's filing frenzy time, and tax preparers deductsanity
10.Somalia's strong eat as its children die
11. Superman to die, so steel yourself
2. Use the active voice: Effective headlines usually involve logical sentence structure, active voice and strong present-tense verbs. They do not include “headlinese.” As with any good writing, good headlines are driven by good verbs.
3 A “capital” idea: The first word in the head should be capitalized as should all proper nouns. Most headline words appear in lower-case letters. Do not capitalize every word. (Note there are a few publications that capitalize the first letter of every word.) In most cases, do capitalize the first word after a colon. (In some cases, when only one word follows the colon, the word would not be capitalized. Use your best judgment.)
4. Number, please: Numbers often go against AP style in headlines. For example, you may start a sentence with a number and, even though that number is below 10, you do not have to spell it out.
Example:
3 die in crash
5. To the left: Write all headlines flush left unless told otherwise.
Example:
Lincoln, Douglas to debate
at new KU Dole
6.Present tense, please: Use present tense for immediate past information, past tense for past perfect, and future tense for coming events.
7. Punctuation normal — mostly: Headline punctuation is normal with two significant exceptions: Use periods for abbreviations only, and use single quotes where you would use double quotes in a story.
Example (single quotes):
Lincoln: ‘The war has begun’
8. Moreover, note the use of the colon (substituting for the word “said”). The colon can be used, sparingly, for introducing both a direct quote and a paraphrase. (See “He said, she said” below.)
Example (paraphrase):
Lincoln: War inevitable; victory essential
The semicolon (above) is used normally: separating two thoughts of equal weight.
Example:
Lincoln says war inevitable; Davis agrees
9. “And” more punctuation: The comma, in addition to its normal use, can take on the work of the word “and.” On rare occasions, the comma also can indicate the word “but” (but, if used that way, be very, very careful, ensuring that the reader has a clear understanding that’s what the comma means. The semi-colon is better for the “but.” Even better is to use the word “but.”)
Examples:
Lincoln offers compromise, Davis declines (awkward)
Lincoln offers compromise; Davis declines (better)
Lincoln offers an ‘out,’ but Davis declines (best)
10. Even more on punctuation: In multi-line headlines, strive to keep most punctuation, except hyphens and dashes, at the end of lines. Don't use a hyphen at the end of a line. With few exceptions, any semi-colon should only be used at the end of a line in a multi-line headline.
Example #1 (good):
Clinton says there was no affair,
urges witness ‘to tell the truth’
Example #2 (not acceptable):
Clinton says no affair, that
(not acceptable;
witness should ‘tell the truth’
awkward break)
Example #3 (not acceptable):
Clinton: I'm not two-
(not acceptable; awkward break)
timing the First Lady
Example #4 (not acceptable):
Clinton says no affair; Starr
(not acceptable; awkward break)
maintains he's got evidence
Example #5 (not acceptable):
Clinton: No affair; Starr:
(not acceptable; see
Evidence says it happened
explanation below)
Example #6 (horrible):
Clinton: No affair; Starr: His probe
(horrible; see
proves it happened more than once
explanation below)
The breaks in the “bad” examples above make it hard for the reader. Make “natural” breaks — breaks where a slight pause by the reader is OK and natural (as in the first example). In Example #4, the use of the semicolon before “Starr” is too close to the end of the line. In Example #5, there's a bad break, but there's also just too much punctuation going on. (The same for Example #6). Keep it simple. Use as little punctuation as possible in headlines. (An important note on word use: Be careful, very careful, about the words you use. The word “probe” in Example #6 obviously is not an appropriate choice given the nature of the story being covered. You might think that’s rather obvious, but you’ll be surprised how many times things like that appear in print.
11. "And" more on the comma: While a comma can be used in the place of the word “and,” you should be careful and avoid the practice when possible — and especially in the nominative portion of the headline. Don’t overuse.
Example (bad):
Clinton, Gore, Dole,
Kemp to meet, debate
Avoid split ends to avoid “hairy” heads ( pun intended) for readers: Work for good phrasing. Avoid splitting verb pieces between lines and ending lines with prepositions.
Examples (bad):
Bush, Kerry to
oppose tax plan
Kerry knocks tax plan because
capital gains loophole ‘too big’
12. To be or not to be “is” the question: In many headlines, as with the example immediately above (…loophole [is] ‘too big’), the verb “to be” is not necessary. It can be used, but in most cases should be avoided. It’s a convention of headline writing to omit uses of the verb “to be.” But, as always, be careful and think of the reader. If an “is” or “was” or “to be” is absolutely necessary for clarity, use it.
13. Who (and what) is whom (or what)? Make it clear: Don't use proper names in headlines unless the name is well-known enough to be recognized immediately. The same is true for abbreviations.
Example (bad):
Jones to fill
Who's Jones? .
vacancy on
14. End in prepositon? OK in narrow multi-line heads.
city council
Example (good):
Lincoln-Douglas
debate today
on K.C. radio
15.Abbreviations: Many abbreviations (as with “K.C.” in the above headline) that are not acceptable in stories are acceptable in headlines. But be careful. If you have any doubts, ask. Everyone would know that “K.C.” is Kansas City, Mo., or the Kansas City metro area in the above example. If it were Kansas City, Kan., you’d have to rewrite the headline and avoid the abbreviation. Avoid all acronyms or abbreviations that are not immediately recognizable by the reader. For example, “NFL” would be OK; “LCC” for Lawrence City Commission would not be. When in doubt, spell it out.
16. Subject and verb, please: Don't write headlines in which nouns and verbs (other than “is” or “was”) are assumed. And don’t start a headline with a verb.
17. Don’t be cute, unless cute is called for: Don't yield to the temptation to write cute headlines or to use faddish or commercial slogans unless doing so fits especially well with the content and tone of the story.
Don’t “Micks nix pix!” Huh? (Mickey Rourke and Mick Jagger turn down roles in same movie): Avoid headlinese, which simply is the use of words that you normally don’t use in writing and conversation in similar contexts. Try to stay as “normal” as possible.
18. Do not editorialize, exaggerate, generalize or use long words. Keep it simple and direct.
19. No “a” or “and” or “the”? Avoid the use of the articles a, an and the, unless they are needed for clarity. (Otherwise, their use generally is considered padding.)
20. Watch out for ambiguity and the double entendre: Be especially careful to read for hidden meanings (as in the “Starr: His probe proves...” headline above) and when a noun could be a verb and vice versa.
Example (of double entendre):
The following is a famous headline.Not only does it have a double entendre, but the bad break at the end of the first line contributes to the problem. Street sales for the newspaper were extraordinary that day; the edition sold out in a remarkably short time. Read the head and you’ll see why:
Textron Inc. Makes Offer
To Screw Co. Stockholders
Need I say more?
21 Finally, the “doo-dah” rule: Headlines, like poetry and songs, should have a rhythm about them. An old trick to see if a headline “sings” is to apply the what's called the “doo-dah” rule. After each line of the headline, simply say “doo-dah” to see if it “sings” (sounds good to the ear). Example:
City's singers
“doo-dah”
in good tune
“doo-dah”
On a separate sheet of paper /word document. Write out the headline and explain the problem; then try to correct it.
1.Something Went Wrong In Jet Crash, Experts Say
2. Police Begin Campaign To Run Down Jaywalkers
3. Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
4. Drunk Gets Nine Months In Violin Case
5. Survivor Of Siamese Twins Joins Parents
6. Farmer Bill Dies In House
7. Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
8. Stud Tires Out
9. Prostitutes Appeal To Pope
10. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Now number 1-5. Read each story below and write a good headline.
Story 1: Next week is finals week on “Dancing With the Stars,” and one of the remaining contenders will soon hold the coveted mirror ball trophy. But just because the season is almost over doesn’t mean there isn’t time for one more ballroom battle — and this one isn’t taking place on the dance floor.
First there was the brouhaha between head judge Len Goodman and moody pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Then there was the alleged bad blood behind-the-scenes between three-time champ Derek Hough and Mad Maks. And now? It’s seems an old “Dancing” feud is reforming — the classic match up between Carrie Ann Inaba and, well, guess who?
That’s right! Chmerkovskiy is once again the man in the middle, but this time, it seems tensions started with Inaba.
On Monday night’s show, while delivering a critique to Chmerkovskiy’s celeb partner, Hope Solo, Inaba took a seemingly random swipe and the pro.
Story 2: A spirited and leaderless protest in the Wall Street section of New York that started last month has inspired a growing number of demonstrations acoss the world.
The protests, dubbed Occupy Wall Street, began on September 17 as hundreds of people descended on the streets of Manhattan's financial district. Since then, the movement has spread to dozens of other cities. And, on October 15, the movement went global with protests in dozens of countries.
The movement, which is modeled after social-media-driven demonstrations in the Middle East, aims to raise awareness about the role financial institutions played in the continued economic downturn affecting the world markets, and to show their discontent at the lukewarm attempts to prosecute those at fault. Demonstrators are also rallying against the state of the war in Afghanistan, the state of the environment, and a wide array of other domestic and international issues.
Story 3: The Secret Service is looking into whether a bullet fired into a window at the White House is connected to a shooting nearby last Friday.
The bullet was stopped by a bullet-proof window and did not enter the White House, the Secret Service said Wednesday. Authorities also found another round in the exterior of the White House. The bullets were found Tuesday, the Secret Service said.
"A round was stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass. One additional round has been found on the exterior of the White House. This damage has not been conclusively connected to Friday's incident, and an assessment of the exterior of the White House is ongoing," a Secret Service statement said.
There is no specific concern for President Barack Obama's safety, a Secret Service official not authorized to speak on the record told CNN.
The bullets were found on the south side of the White House, the official told CNN.
Last Friday night at about 9 p.m., U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service investigated after hearing shots fired about 700 to 800 yards from the White House, the Secret Service statement said.
Within five minutes, officers located a vehicle in the 2300 block of Constitution Avenue. Evidence in the vehicle led to U.S. Park Police obtaining an arrest warrant for Oscar Ortega-Hernandez," described as a 21-year-old Hispanic male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds.
A weapon registered to Ortega-Hernandez was found in the car, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
The Secret Service interviewed people who know Ortega-Hernandez, and determined he had a "direction of interest toward the president and the White House" -- a term that does not suggest a direct specific threat.
Authorities are searching for Ortega-Hernandez, with the FBI, ATF and Metropolitan Police Department all taking part, officials said.
"There's always an outer perimeter and this was on the very outer perimeter of our security," the Secret Service official said. "The gun and car were found within several minutes. We have a lot of security -- a lot of layered security down there and the security worked."
The law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said when shots were heard Friday night, there were reports of tires screeching and cars racing.
Story 4
Lifetime has already tackled the controversial cases of Amanda Knox and Drew Peterson, so it's not much of a surprise that it would consider a movie based on Anthony's headline-grabbing case.
We suggested as much in July, after Anthony was acquitted of murder and child abuse charges in relation to the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Lifetime just seemed like an option for an Anthony movie to show up. At the time, the network didn't have anything in development.
Variety reports that Lifetime is now developing a potential TV movie that would be based on the memoir of Jeff Ashton, the attorney who prosecuted Anthony's case.
Ashton's memoir, "Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony," chronicles the three-year period he and his team tried to convict Anthony, and the film would let the story of the murder case unfold from their perspective.
But, Lifetime has yet to give the TV movie the green light. In the meantime, Ashton's 322-page book arrived on shelves Tuesday.
Story 5: I was told the substance in the glass casserole dish in front of me was potato salad - but I wasn’t buying it.
Why was it white?
Why was it smooth?
And where was the red stuff that goes on top?
It was 1998, and I was having my first Thanksgiving dinner with white people.Now on the one hand going to his parents house for the holiday was a very good thing. I was in an interracial relationship and we had progressed to the point in which he felt comfortable doing so. But on other hand, I was a bit troubled when I walked through the door and didn’t smell greens cooking. Were we too early? Were they in the fridge?
As I was being introduced, I took a nice deep breath and...nope. Not a whiff of collards, or turnips or even the Tito Jackson of greens—mustard. For a moment I thought I had wandered into an episode of the Twilight Zone or maybe my mother had hired a witch doctor to put a hex on me because she was mad I wasn’t coming home.
I mean, it was Thanksgiving.
Who doesn’t cook greens on Thanksgiving?
It was a real eye-opening experience for me in that up to this point, I thought we had pretty much navigated across the sea of cultural differences between us. I taught him how to play spades, he taught me gin rummy, it was all good. But now there was this string bean casserole with dried up onions on my plate and a dish of naked potato salad in my face and I was beginning to think we wouldn’t make it.
It’s Thanksgiving. Why isn’t there any paprika on the potato salad? How come there isn’t any hot sauce out on the table? How come there’s nothing to put hot sauce on?
I was willing to do anything for love. But I wasn’t ready to do that.
Give up greens, and dressing and sweet potato pie.
I wasn’t ready to give up Thanksgiving.
I grew up in a household that if a particular aunt or uncle didn’t make their signature dish for the Thanksgiving festivities, the rest of us spent the rest of the day trying to figure out who they were mad at. We didn’t cook food just to eat. We cooked food to show love. It takes a lot of effort to make a dish of potato salad large enough to feed all of the mouths that would come together. It takes a lot of patience to pick all of those greens from the stem. And whoever volunteered to clean and cook a pot of “chitlins” had the biggest heart of all.
Had the kindest soul.
That’s what soul food is about. My family didn’t have a whole lot to give, but what we had plenty of was love and we poured that love, our soul into the food.
But the problem with the phrase “soul food” is that it insinuates no other kind of food has that soul, that care.
I knew it was good, but I wasn’t sure if it was made with the kind of love I had seen my family put into their food. How could I? My sphere was not very large, my worldview limited.
But as I’ve grown and had the chance to travel and become a citizen of the world, I realize that there’s a whole lot of people who are not black putting their whole heart and soul into their cooking. And it is good and it is delicious and it is full with a lot of love.
Looking back, that Thanksgiving Day was one of the most pivotal moments in my life. I had worked so hard to get into college and earn a scholarship, and yet I really didn’t know anything about people outside of my own experiences. Sure, I took classes and learned about people who weren’t black. I had been roommates with and worked with people who weren’t black. I was even dating someone who wasn’t black. But it wasn’t until I left my comfort zone and broke bread in someone else’s that I realized I was book smart, street wise but a little worldly dumb. And when I began to meet black people who didn't cook soul food and whites that did... well, let's just say some of the best lessons in life are not taught in school.
The potato salad - while still naked in my eyes - was pretty good. So was the pumpkin pie.
I’m not going to pretend as if I didn’t miss a lot of the smells and tastes of the Thanksgivings I was accustomed to. But I will say that if it wasn’t for that day, I might not be the adventurous eater that I am now. More importantly, it would have taken me a lot longer to understand the difference between accepting our differences and celebrating them.
And for that, I am forever thankful.
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