I think it's interesting how the same story can have such different spin, just by changing the headline. As an example, check out the following headlines. They're from newspapers around the country introducing the exact same article.
- Armstrong wants to finish in style
- Armstrong stays on course
- Workin' on a chain gang
- Armstrong getting closer to seventh Tour title
- Armstrong emerges from mountains still in lead
- Armstrong not giving in to rivals
- Armstrong protects lead in mountain stage
- Armstrong feeling better every day
- Armstrong Aiming for Daily Tour Stage Win
Another thing about headlines is that at many major newspapers the person who writes the story doesn't actually come up with the headline. The writer turns in the finished article and someone else comes up with the title and decides what quotes to pull out as teasers (known as "call-outs"). It seems strange to me that journalists can't choose the titles of their stories, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it.
Once upon a time I thought I wanted to be a journalist. The page editors create the headlines because they design the pages, and the headlines need to fit in the space the editor sets aside for the headline. Back in the day before computer page design, this was done with rulers and calculators.
Posted by: Richard Masoner | July 25, 2005 at 08:45 AM
Thanks for the info Richard. I think having page editors write headlines is a bad idea. They just don't have the keen eye and knowledge of the story that the journalists have.
Here is an example of what can go wrong. This is a headline from the Daily Camera newspaper on the Trek/AP story: "Deal in 1988 propels company's sales to $5.5 billion"
Posted by: Jonathan Maus | July 26, 2005 at 08:27 AM