HU JRNL13 NOTES HEADLINE WRITING

1. HU JRNL13 NOTESHEADLINE WRITING PROF. VACCARO

2. TODAY’S CLASS ROADMAP • NEWS QUIZ • REVIEW ASSIGNMENT NO. 1 GRADES/NOTES • GO OVER STORY PITCHES/LATEST BEAT NOTES • NOTE: ASSIGNMENT NO. 2 DUE 10-29-13 • NOTE: NO CLASS NEXT WEEK!

3. Assignment No. 1 critiques • LOTS to improve on, collectively • Option to “resubmit” work if I wrote it on there. If you scored high, not necessary. • Resubmit means you’ll get a higher grade, but not perfect. • Improvement is expected for second assignment and others going forward. • This is to be taken seriously, not lightly. The grades can only improve if you put the effort into your reporting.

4. Assignment No. 1 Notes • ACCORDING TO WHO?! WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THE INFO FROM? YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT UP AND IT’S NOT FROM THIN AIR! • Not enough sources. Online links and other newspapers do not count as sources. They only exist in the story to help provide context, but not sourcing and attribution for the actual information. • Watch out on our AP Style for abbreviations: dates, states, etc. • Spell out % • Don’t start a sentence with a number … ever • Break up your paragraphs. Never should be more than two sentences. Never should include quotes in the graphs. • Make quotes separate on their own

5. Assignment No. 1 Notes • *Some had their leads buried. You must know what the news story is before you write the news story! • *Many stories read like press releases and not news stories. If there is no news value to it, then it’s not good enough for this class or for any news organization. • *Many stories sound like they’re features and not straight forward news stories. I don’t want to take 3-4 graphs to find the lead. • *Many lacking in substance and context. You can’t just say the lead and then have some quotes with bland statements. You need the background information. You need stats and substantial information to support your lead. • *Many stories are only showing one side: you need both. Government v. Tax Payers. School vs. parents. Officials vs. people being served, etc. • *Don’t rely on people you know or the “unofficial” sources

6. Assignment No. 2 pitches • Let’s go around the room and solidify what your second assignment story will be about: • 500 WORDS • Different topic then the first beat • Stick to news, not features • Due October 29 at 6:30 p.m.

7. Headline writing • Summarize story in four to eight words • Be sure the reader will know what the story is about from the headline. Don’t make this a guessing game. • Always use present tense • Omit articles – a, an, and the – unless absolutely necessary • Use commas for and. Use semicolons to separate thoughts

8. Headline Writing • Never break a word over two lines; avoid breaking a thought over two lines • Capitalize first word and proper nouns only • Make sure your headline fits your device or platform: think apps, think mobile, think web browsers. • Utilize SEO strategy whenever possible for web stories

9. Headlines • Notes from Columbia J-School •  Be quick, but don’t hurry. Don’t allow the goal of “pushing pages” before deadline to short-circuit the need to write accurate, clear, tasteful headlines.  Remember: readers start here. • Understand the news peg or feature angle.  • Use the Key Word system: select key words from story (but don’t parrot lead). Select words that reflect the central theme of the article.  • For news heads: play it straight, summarize the news.  • For feature heads: be creative. Tease, flirt, hint - but don’t give away lead.  • In feature heads, use freshened clichés, creative puns, twists of ad slogans, well-known sayings.  • Highlight intrigue, contrast or conflict within central theme, using key words. 

10. Headlines • Notes from Columbia J-School • Avoid lazy headline writing. Don’t settle for your first try, then change type size to make it fit.  • Don’t fall in love with your own cute, creative puns. The challenge: rewrite and make it better.  • Seek the input of others: How can the headline be misread? Does it work?  • Listen to the lone ranger: honor the courage of one brave soul who objects.  One person who doesn’t “get it” now represents thousands who won’t get it later.  • When it comes down to Cute vs. Truth, make sure you choose the right one.

11. Headlines Dos and Donts • Notes from Columbia J-School • Make the headline easy to read. The key purpose of the head: to communicate. • Don’t mislead reader.  • Don’t exaggerate; maintain neutrality.  • Remember the rules of grammar and use them.  • Don’t split nouns, modifiers, verbs and prepositional phrases over two lines.  • Each line should be a unit by itself.  • Abbreviate sparingly . 

12. Headlines Dos and Donts • Notes from Columbia J-School • Verify accuracy -- and avoid any word that can carry a double meaning. • Make the head complete in itself (especially true for news heads).  • Don’t begin with a verb (“Saves daughter from fire”).  • Use present tense to indicate past (“Bush wins presidency”).  • Don’t use present tense to indicate future unless necessary; add time element for clarity.  • Don’t use common or unrecognized names in heads.  • Don’t use said, when you mean said to be  (“County said considering tax increase”).   • Don’t use feel, believes or thinks.  • Don’t pad heads with unnecessary words.  • Avoid slang unless relevant to feature story and headline.