I take the criticism to heart when a headline fails to fit the facts or the tone of a story, but in general I try to retain my sanity by reminding myself, and the complainers, that 1,235 words will generally paint a more nuanced and sophisticated picture than, say, nine words. (Or, hell, 1,234.)
John McIntyre, assistant managing editor for copy desks at the Baltimore Sun, offers some words to live by:
A headline -- please keep this in mind -- is inherently elliptical and approximate. The text has the exact, detailed information. The headline is a suggestion that you should read the damn story.
2 comments:
Definitely a good point, and something I struggle with as the copy editor of a college newspaper.
By 1:30 a.m., I usually go for "clear" over "creative," since most late-night attempts at nuance (or puns, God help us) come out all wrong. In Newsday today, on the recent rash of injuries among Mets outfielders:
They're putting 'out' in outfield; Green headed to DL?
I knew what they really meant, but I still giggled. Especially when I skipped to the final quote:
"I was lucky then," Green said. "Maybe I'll be lucky again."
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmside275232327may27,0,7735633.story?coll=ny-mets-print
First post here, and love your blog!
Headlines can be approximate - but they can still get you sued. As a sub (copy editor here in the UK), I'd rather we were sued for contentious body copy rather than for an inaccurate headline on an otherwise legally sound story (trust me; it's happened before). Of course, best not to be sued at all...
http://engineroomblog.blogspot.com
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