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HEADLINE WRITING
2. HEADS H - Heralds the days news; tells
what is of importance. E - Entices the reader with
essential or interesting facts. A - Advertises the
most important story by size or placement on the
page (the most important stories are displayed at
the top of the page). D - Dresses up a page with
typography; helps make design attractive. S -
Summarises the story with a "super"
lead; tells what the story is about.
3. Style variation in headlines ALL-CAPS
HEADS The all-capital letter headline style is
almost extinct. All-caps heads, while they are easier
to write than others, are the most difficult to read.
4. CAPS AND LOWERCASE HEADS In this
headline style, all words, other than articles,
conjunctions, and prepositions, are set in the first
letter in caps and the others in lowercase.
5. DOWN-STYLE HEADS The first letter of
the first word - and the first letter of any proper
noun - is set as a cap, and all other letters are
lowercase. Down-style is presented in the way
persons are taught to read and write. Visually
attractive Enhances readability
6. KINDS OF HEADLINES Banner head
Crossline head Flush left head Side heads/ Flush
right head Kicker (eyebrow)
7. Banner head The banner head is set the
full-page width at the top of a news page to draw
 attention to the lead story of that particular page.
Skyline: If it runs above the masthead. However,
this is almost extinct. Streamer: The widest and
biggest multi-column head on a page, regardless of
whether it is the full width.
8. Crossline head: It does not always span the
full width of the page, but does cover all the
columns of the story to which it pertains. FLUSH
LEFT HEAD: The flush left head is a two- or three-
line head with each line set flush left. The lines do
not have to be equal in width or set full. The white
space at the right is considered enhancing, because
it allows "air" into the otherwise stuffy
column spaces.
9. Side Head: The side head is a headline
form that runs alongside a story. It is normally three
or four lines . Kicker: Also called the eyebrow. The
kicker opens the area on a page where the headline
is located. It can be used to introduce a feature
article with a line above the main head. (Make the
kicker 1/2 the point size of the main head. Alternate
the font type. Underline the kicker.)
10. Headline Variants Standing Head: A label
used for regular or recurring content, such as sports
and film review columns. It does not change from
issue to issue. Eg: Film Review Jump Head: Helps
the reader find a portion of a story continued from
another page. The jump head uses one or two key
words from the headline that introduced the story. It
is set flush left followed by the words
"Continued from Page ##."
 11. Headline writing skills The headline
should give the essence of the story. It should fit in
the limited space. Should use strong action verbs.
Present tense. Is/are/to be should be avoided.
Articles should be avoided. Focus on active voice.
12. OPINIONS : Headlines on stories dealing
with opinion should show the source of that
opinion. If a story is attributed to a second hand
source, this should be reflected in the headline e.g.
'Courts too lenient' claims priest REPEATS: Avoid
repeating words in the same headline. e.g. Former
Jamshedpur journalist returns to Jamshedpur as
public relations officer
13. Use short, vigorous words. e.g. Win for
victory, Ex for former, Job for appointment, Okay
for accept , approve or adopt, Try for attempt the
list goes on...
14. Punctuation Use single quotation marks
instead of double. Use commas to replace the word
and. Also, use commas to make pauses or breaks in
headline construction. Use semicolons to divide
thoughts, where needed especially three-line heads.
Use periods only after abbreviations.
15. Tips for good headline writing Tell the
story. Sell the story. Match the tone of the story. Be
original. Be accurate.