Is this a headline?

[Irishcheesehead]

I see your points about questions. I think in the right situations, they can be used in headlines.

I just have a problem with a headline that says, "Pass on the run?" and the drop head states local team does not plan to abandon the run even though it can pass very well. So we answered the headline in the drop and we could have down something better.

Thanks for the input.

 

[amraeder]

My coworker and I disagree on this all the time. He likes to get clever with his headlines but to the point where you can't tell what the heck kind of story is below it. (An example would be him using the headline "Serve's Up" for a game story on the US Open).

My headlines tend to be unoriginal and uncreative and dull. ("Avengers run past Dodgers").

We can't seem to come up with a compromise that works.

For your coworker's headlines, you just have to go with a subhead. Don't mind Serve's Up as a head, as long as there's a subhead.

 

[MagillaGorilla]

We used to have stories on in-progress studies by the local university, which went well with question heds.

Do babies hate fat people?
Subhed: PDSU researchers analyze infant reactions to cellulite

I have it on good authority that babies do, in fact, hate fat people. Do skinny adults hate fat babies? ... Wait, I just got a headline idea for our Health & Fitness page.

 

[mjp1542]

My coworker and I disagree on this all the time. He likes to get clever with his headlines but to the point where you can't tell what the heck kind of story is below it. (An example would be him using the headline "Serve's Up" for a game story on the US Open).

My headlines tend to be unoriginal and uncreative and dull. ("Avengers run past Dodgers").

We can't seem to come up with a compromise that works.

For your coworker's headlines, you just have to go with a subhead. Don't mind Serve's Up as a head, as long as there's a subhead.

"Serve's Up" works as a headline for a feature on the start of the tournament. As for a regular game story/day roundup, I think it's not very good. In my opinion, it does nothing to draw in the reader.

One of the local papers here goes crazy with clever headlines. I'd say they hit the mark about 33 percent of the time. It's a slippery slope.

 

[Point of Order]

I went with "WTF?" after Jax State beat Ole Miss.

 

[Ace]

Headline writing is an entirely different beats online, too.

I think there you especially want to be careful not to reveal too much so the reader doesn't click into the story, and you also want to add SEO-friendly keywords.

So a successful online hed might be:

Was New England Patriots Tom Brady blasting Lady Gaga before scary car wreck?

 

[CYowSMR]

I went with "WTF?" after Jax State beat Ole Miss.

Haha! Yes!

I went with "Blanchard, Cocks go deep, bust Nutt in overtime"