The Project Gutenberg eBook of Newspaper Writing and Editing, by Willard Grosvenor Bleyer, Ph.D.

Figures for numbers under ten appear less frequently in headlines, particularly at the beginning of a deck, but again the practice in regard to this usage is not uniform. Newspapers, like the New York Evening Post, that have but one line in the top deck of their large headlines, not infrequently use figures below ten at the beginning or anywhere in the first deck. With the greater space of the drop-line head it is easier to avoid small figures.

The division of words in headlines so that one syllable is in one part of the deck and one in another part, is to be avoided. Similarly, hyphenated words, or two words constituting a name or term each word of which is not clear alone, should not be divided between parts of the top deck. The following four heads illustrate these undesirable divisions:

The use of unemphatic words, like “of,” “to,” “for,” “and,” “but,” “if,” “a,” “the,” at the end of parts of the top deck is not desirable, as in this position they are given prominence and emphasis out of all proportion to their importance. Typographical limitations and the exigencies of rapid headline writing, however, result not infrequently in their appearance in these positions. Whenever it is possible, they should be avoided at the end of parts of the top deck.

Punctuation. Punctuation in headlines and subheads follows the accepted rules. When marks are not absolutely necessary for clearness, they should be omitted. In the first deck, and in cross-line heads, independent sentences not connected by conjunctions are separated by semicolons; for example:

In other decks dashes are usually used to separate independent unconnected statements. Care should be taken to avoid a dash at the end of one of the parts of a deck. The use of the dash is shown in the following example:

The image above is a head with two decks separated by a short horizontal rule. The first deck is a cross-line head that reads | TAFT PREPARES FOR YALE POST |.

The second deck is a pyramid head in three parts. It says | President Leases Residence at New | Haven—Expects to Go There | in the Spring. | It demonstrates the careful use of a dash which appears in the middle of the second line of the pyramid. The dash serves to separate the unconnected statements | President Leases Residence at New Haven | and | Expects to Go There in the Spring. |

Headline punctuation in various forms is illustrated in the heads given below:

The image above contains six examples of headline punctuation in heads. They are all single decks and are labelled | (1) | to | (6) |.

Example (1) is a drop-line head in two parts. The first line ends with a question mark. The second line begins with the word “NO” in inverted commas. The head says GIVE UP WAR SPOILS? | “NO”, SHOUT CHINESE.

Example (2) is also a drop-line head in two parts. The first line says | “THEATRE ON FIRE!” | and ends with an exclamation mark. The whole line is enclosed in quotation marks. The second line says | CRY ON BROADWAY |.

Example (4) is a drop-line head in two parts. Its purpose is to quote a statement by a person named Wilson. The statement says | GIVE BAD POLITICS FRESH AIR |. That statement is enclosed in quotation marks and its author's name | WILSON | is appended to the statement by a dash. The two parts of the head as actually displayed say | “GIVE BAD POLITICS | FRESH AIR”—WILSON |.

The image above contains three more examples of headline punctuation in heads. Each example is a single deck and they are labelled | (7) | to | (9) |.

Example (9) is also a drop-line head in three parts. The first line quotes a source who says | “DON’T BUTT IN” |. As it is a quotation, it is correctly enclosed in quotation marks. The other two lines of the head state who that quote is directed at. Those lines says | MEXICO IS TOLD | IN POLITE WAY |. Displayed as a single line, the head says | “DON’T BUTT IN” MEXICO IS TOLD IN POLITE WAY

Methods of Building Headlines. The editor or copy-reader who is constantly writing heads comes to think unconsciously in headline units; that is, his daily practice makes it possible for him to frame readily statements of the essential facts that will fulfill the requirements of each deck of the head. Nevertheless, he always counts the units to be sure that the number is correct. For the beginner the process of building up the several decks of a typical headline is analyzed at some length in the following pages, in order to demonstrate the methods pursued.

The story selected for showing the process of headline writing has been taken from the Chicago Record-Herald, which gave it a headline constructed on the following plan:

The image above is of a headline constructed of four decks, each separated by a short horizontal rule. The font size and weight differs between decks and to the left of each line in a head is the number of headline units that line contains.

The first deck is a drop-line head in two parts and displayed in a large, weighted, font. Each of the two lines contains 18 unit letters and say | FOREST RESERVE ACT | IS DECLARED INVALID |.

The second deck is in a smaller, mixed-case, font of lighter weight. It is a pyramid head in three parts that contains 10 words. Each part contains, respectively, 30, 25 and 15 unit letters. The parts say | State Supreme Court’s Decision | Puts Tax Assessing Depart- | ment In Dilemma. | Displayed as a single line without the division of words, the head says | State Supreme Court’s Decision Puts Tax Assessing Department In Dilemma. |

The third deck is a cross-line head in upper-case displayed in a font of medium weight and smaller than that used in the first deck. It contains 23 unit letters and says | MAY ENJOIN THE OFFICIALS |.

The fourth deck is similar to the second deck being a pyramid in three parts and displayed in the same font. It also contains 10 words. Each part of the head contains, respectively, 30, 25 and 15 unit letters. The parts say | State’s Attorney Wayne Threat- | ens Action if Attempt is Made | to Collect Levy. | Displayed as a single line without the division of words, the head says | State’s Attorney Wayne Threatens Action if Attempt is Made to Collect Levy. |

The story for which the headline is to be written follows:

The city council finance committee last night unanimously agreed to a proposition made by Mayor Harrison to have a committee of experts decide each year how much money shall be spent in each ward for street cleaning and garbage and refuse collection.

The mayor said the plan could not be adopted this year, as the committee was engaged in making up the budget for 1912 and there would not be time.

The suggestion of the mayor came during the annual “squabble” of the committee over the ward appropriations. As usual every member was contending for an increase.

“I’ll tell you, gentlemen,” suddenly broke in Mayor Harrison, “this helter skelter method of making up ward appropriations should be discontinued. It is a system that is out of date and one that works an injustice on many sections of the city. I would suggest that we have a commission or a committee of experts begin next year, about three months before the committee begins making up the budget, and work out a scientific plan for the proper distribution of the street cleaning and garbage removal funds.”

[Pg 296]

“I’m with you there,” declared Aldermen Cermak and Egan in unison, and every alderman around the table enthusiastically endorsed the proposition.

The work of making the ward appropriations was continued after the mayor’s suggestions and raises were granted along the line.

In editing this story of the meeting of the city council finance committee, the copy-reader would get these four main points:

(1) Mayor Harrison’s proposal to the finance committee in regard to the allotment of ward funds was approved.

(2) His plan is to have experts decide the division on a scientific basis.

(3) The new method cannot be put into operation until next year on account of lack of time.

(4) The fight, or “squabble,” among the aldermen on this matter has been an annual one.

As the subject of the story is the “ward funds,” the headline may be constructed around these words. The words “ward fund” contain 9½ units, and the plural “ward funds,” 10½ units, which, on the basis of 18 units to be filled in each half of the first deck, will leave 7½ or 8½ units to be filled, according as the singular or plural form of “fund” is used. If a verb is desired for the first half deck, the “dividing” or “allotting” of the fund expresses the idea involved; and, since the action is in the future, “to divide” or “to allot” (8 units each), or “will divide” or “will allot” (10 units each), are possibilities. The combination of these elements gives “To Allot Ward Fund” (18½ units) and “To Divide Ward Fund” (18½ units), either of which may be used for the first half of the top deck. This deck may be completed in the second half by introducing the second point; namely, that the allotment is to be made “On a Scientific Basis” (19 units), which can be reduced to 17 units by omitting the article “a.” The result will then be as follows:

Or the second point may be used in the form of the allotment’s being made “with the aid of experts” (22½ units), which may be reduced to 18½ units by omitting the article “the.” The resulting combination will be:

If it is desired to emphasize the fact that the mayor has solved the ward fund problem, or has ended the “grab,” or settled the “squabble,” or dispute, or fight, these phrases may be arranged in the following forms:

This image is at the top of the following page and contains two more examples showing how phrases may be arranged in a head to emphasize facts of a story.

Still greater prominence can be given to the mayor by putting the word at the beginning of the first half of the first deck, but by so doing the real subject, that is, the ward fund division or wrangle, must go over into the second half. In this arrangement the forms would be:

If more emphasis is desired for the point that experts are to settle or decide the ward fund division or fight, these statements may be combined as follows, but again the real subject, by going into the second half of the deck, is less conspicuous:

These various forms for the top deck show some of the possibilities of variety of emphasis and tone in the headline. As the first half of the top deck is more conspicuous than the second, the most significant part of the statement should, if possible, be placed in the first half. Consequently those forms in which the idea of the allotting or dividing of the ward funds is placed first, would generally be preferred. The words “squabble,” “scrap,” and “grab,” although colloquial and inelegant, might be admissible to characterize effectively the situation growing out of the efforts of each alderman to get the most for his own ward, if the circumstances of the dispute were undignified.

The other decks of the headline for this story may be constructed to follow any one of these top decks, but, for convenience, only two of the top decks will be used for illustration. If the one chosen is “To Divide Ward Fund On Scientific Basis,” it may be developed by the other points already given (page 296); that is, (1) The mayor’s proposal was approved by the finance committee; (2) The division is to be made by experts; (3) The method cannot be put into operation until next year for lack of time; and (4) the fight on the matter has been an annual one. The second deck of ten words should explain the “scientific basis” of division and give the action of the finance committee by which this plan was determined upon, both of which points may be stated in the following forms:

Example | (2) | is also a pyramid head in three parts. It states the same facts as the example above but phrases them in a different way. It is 12 words long and avoids dividing the word | Committee |. The three parts are respectively 30, 25 and 17 unit letters long and say | Plan to Let Experts Fix Amount |, | Given Approval by Council |, Finance Committee. | Displayed as a single line the head says | Plan to Let Experts Fix Amount Given Approval by Council Finance Committee. |

The third deck, which, because of the size of type, is next in prominence to the top deck, should contain the mayor’s part in the solution, and within the limits of 23 unit letters, this may be expressed in the following forms:

If the third or fifth forms are used, they should not be combined with the second form, “Plan To Let Experts, etc.,” suggested for the second deck, because of the repetition of the word “plan.”

For the fourth deck the idea that the dispute is an annual one, and, if not already used, the point that the plan is going into effect next year, may both be expressed within the limits, which are the same as those for the second deck, as follows:

Example | (2) | is also a pyramid head in three parts. This one contains 11 words. It again communicates the idea that the dispute is an annual one and that the plan is going into effect next year. The three parts are respectively 27, 26 and 14 units long and say | Annual Squabble of Aldermen |, | Over Street Cleaning Money |, | Ends Next Year. | Displayed as a single line the head says | Annual Squabble of Aldermen Over Street Cleaning Money Ends Next Year. |

In complete form with one of each of these possibilities chosen to avoid repetition, the head will read:

The image above displays the complete head which is made up of four decks.

Displayed as a single line the head says | TO DIVIDE WARD FUND ON SCIENTIFIC BASIS | City Council Finance Committee Will Let Experts Settle Problem Next Year. MAYOR PROPOSES THE PLAN | New Method Will End Annual Dispute of Aldermen Over Allotment of Money. |

If the first deck chosen is one of the forms in which the part played by the mayor in the solution of the problem is emphasized, the other three decks could be so composed as to include the other points, without repetition, as follows:

Displayed as a single line the head says | WARD FUND PROBLEM IS SOLVED BY MAYOR | Plan to Let Experts Fix Amount Given Approval by Council Finance Committee. | TO TAKE EFFECT NEXT YEAR Allotment on Scientific Basis to Replace Annual Squabble of the Aldermen. |

Subheads. Besides writing headlines for stories, the copy-reader inserts subheads at intervals to break up the solid masses of type which are unrelieved except by paragraph division. These subheads make possible more rapid reading.

The subhead, which is set up either in bold face capitals or in bold face capitals and lower case, is like a cross-line head that does not fill the entire column width. The subhead should be an announcement in three or four words of the most significant point in the section of the story which it precedes. The same limitation as to the number of units exists as in any cross-line head. In a story of some length subheads are placed at intervals of about 200 words, and in shorter stories at intervals of from 100 to 150 words. The insertion of these subheads at comparatively regular intervals makes for symmetry of effect. Significant matter in the story, or an important change of topic, warrants a subhead, regardless of the regularity of the interval. It is generally considered preferable not to place a subhead immediately after a sentence ending with a colon and introducing a quotation, because the subhead interrupts the quotation and appears to be part of it. This difficulty can usually be avoided by placing the subhead just before the introductory sentence, thus:

NEW YORK, Dec. 14.—On the eve of his retirement from the post of British ambassador at Washington, which he has occupied with distinction for six years, James Bryce Saturday night paid an extraordinary tribute to the constitution of the United States. The occasion was the annual dinner of the Pennsylvania society of New York, and he spoke from the topic: “The Commemoration of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Framing of the Constitution of the United States.”

Work of Men of Genius.

The ambassador said in part:

“The constitution was the work of an extraordinary group of men such as has seldom been seen living at the same time in any country and such as had never been brought together in any other country to undertake the immensely difficult task of framing a fundamental instrument of government for a nation. The nation was then a small one, and it is one of the most striking tributes to the genius and foresight of the men that the frame of government which they designed for 37,000,000 people should have proved fitting to serve the needs of 93,000,000.”

Jump-Heads. When a story is continued from one page to another, a head called a jump-head, or “run-over” head, is placed above the continuation. This jump-head may be either the top deck of the head at the beginning set in the same type or in smaller type, or it may be a new head. Examples of jump-heads follow:

Two examples are provided. Each example is in two sections. The first section displays the head of a story from the first page and the second section displays the jump-head that is placed above the continuation of the story on another page.

Big Heads. In this discussion only one column heads have been considered, but the same general principles apply to the construction of headlines extending over any number of columns. Important news may be given a head of one, two, or three parts extending across the whole front page. Such a head is often called a “banner.”

SUGGESTIONS

Get the important facts of the story clearly and accurately in mind before writing the head.
Study carefully each kind of headline to find out its possibilities and limitations.
Give the story a headline proportionate in size to its importance.
Base the head as far as possible on the facts in the lead.
Have the tone of the head in keeping with that of the story.
Don’t make the head a comment on the news.
Avoid trite, hackneyed words or phrases.
Make the statement in each deck clear, concise, and specific.
Put the most significant fact into the first deck.
Use short, specific words in the first deck.
Count the unit letters and spaces in every deck.
Don’t try to crowd in more units than the space will permit.
Don’t fill out a short line with weak words.
Make clear the relation of the statement of each deck to that in the preceding deck.
Use only such abbreviations as are commonly to be found in heads.
Omit articles and unnecessary auxiliary verbs whenever it is possible.
Punctuate only when clearness requires it.
Use figures when they are the significant facts.
Avoid repetition of words other than connectives.
Use the present tense of the verb for past events and the infinitive or future tense for coming ones.
Keep the tenses uniform throughout the head.
Avoid libelous statements.

PRACTICE WORK

Criticize the following heads and rewrite each, retaining as far as possible the ideas and point of view of the original:

The image above is example (1) of sixteen examples of heads to be criticized. In this example, as in all the examples that follow, the top deck is a drop-line head. In that context it is worth recalling from page 280 that each line of a drop-line head should ideally be 18 unit letters wide.

The image above is example (2). It is a head of three decks. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 17 and 16 unit letters respectively. It says | PARCELS POST PLAN | STARTS TOMORROW |. The second deck is a head in pyramid form which says | New System Makes It Possible | to Mail Packages Weighing | Up to 11 Pounds. | The third decks is a cross-line head which says | REQUIRE SPECIAL STAMPS |

The image above is example (3). It is a head of two decks and is followed by the first paragraph of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 15½ and 15 unit letters respectively. It says | RIVERS IN GOTHAM | FOR CROSS SETTO |. The second deck is a four-part hanging indention head which says | Little Mexican, in Great Condi- | tion, Announces That He Will | Surely Put the Quietus on the | Hard Hitting Dentist. |

The opening paragraph of the story follows the head. It says | NEW YORK, Dec. 28.—Joe Rivers, the Mexican lightweight, accompanied by his manager, Joe Levy, his brother, Andy Rivers, and his trainer, Abdul the Turk, arrived in this city Friday night. Rivers is scheduled to fight Leach Cross, at the Empire A. C. on Jan. 14, instead of Jan. 8. |

The image above is example (4). It is a head of three decks and is followed by the opening paragraphs of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 13½ and 13½ unit letters respectively. It says | TAXES MUST BE | PAID BY JAN. 31 |. Note the second line of the head uses | JAN. 31 | as a shortened form of | JANUARY THIRTY FIRST |

The third deck is a drop-line head in two parts which say | COLLECTION TO BEGIN | AT 9 A. M., TOMORROW |

The opening paragraphs of the story follow the head. They say | The collection of city taxes will be started at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning by City Treasurer John R. Greene. | “All county and state taxes must be paid by Jan. 31,” said City Treasurer Greene yesterday. “But an extension of six months on city taxes will be granted to those applying, under a law passed by the 1911 legislature.” |

The image above is example (5). It is a head of two decks and is followed by the first paragraph of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 15 and 14 unit letters respectively. It says | GOTHAM WORKERS | PLANNING STRIKE |

The second deck is a pyramid of three parts which say | Demanding the Abolishment of | Sweat Shop and General | Increase in Wages. |

The opening paragraph of the story says | NEW YORK. Dec. 22.—The largest of a series of general strikes of 200,000 garment workers in this city will probably start this week following the counting of a secret ballot of 125,000 workers who have just completed the vote. The abolition of sweatshop conditions in the trade and a general increase in wages are demanded. |

The image above is example (6). It is a head of two decks and is followed by the first paragraph of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 16½ and 16 unit letters respectively. It says | HIGH PRICES SAWED | BY PARCELS POST? |. It is posed as a question with the second line of the head ending in a question mark.

The second deck is a pyramid of three parts which say | Senator Jonathan Bourne Thinks | New System Will Solve Cost of | Living Problem. |

The opening paragraph of the story says | WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 21.—If the parcels post is utilized to its fullest degree, a decided decrease in the cost of living will result, according to the prediction on Saturday of Senator Jonathan Bourne of Oregon, father of the measure which becomes effective on Jan. 1. |

The image above is example (7). It is a head of three decks and is followed by the opening paragraphs of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head of two parts with 16½ and 16½ unit letters respectively. It says | THINK PARLAPIANO’S | ACT IS JUSTIFIABLE |

The third deck is a cross-line head which says | BOUND OVER TO NEXT TERM |

Part of the opening paragraph of the story follows. The remainder of that paragraph plus the second paragraph are contained in an image at the top of the next page. The part displayed here says | Although the district attorney and judge of the District court testified their belief, supplementary to the arguments of the counsel for the defense, in the justifiableness of the crime, it was found necessary to bind over Vito Parlapiano, alleged murderer of Michael Perricone, |

The image above is the continuation of paragraph text from the previous page. It says | to the next term of the Municipal court, in District court Friday afternoon. | The sight of a district attorney who had caused a man’s arrest pleading for his release on the grounds of justification, and of the judge of a court expressing his opinion of the man’s innocence, has rarely been seen, but all this was done after convincing testimony had been introduced to prove that the killing was done in self-defense and through excessive fear of death on the defendant’s part. |

The image above is example (8). It is a head of two decks and is followed by the opening paragraphs of the story it heads. The top deck is a drop-line head in a smaller font than usual. It is in two parts with 27½ and 28 unit letters respectively. Both lines use the full width of the column but the letters look crowded thus making it difficult to see where one word ends and the next starts. This head says | POPE’S BROTHER, 76 YEARS OLD, | AT 50 CENTS WAGE, GETS BOOST. |

The second deck is a three-part hanging indention head which says | Aged Postmaster’s Pay Doubled—Walks | Ten Miles a Day Carrying Mails to | Rail Station. |

The opening paragraphs of the story follow. They say | ROME, Dec. 9.—The pope’s brother, Angelo Sarto, who is postmaster of the village of Corazio, called at the parliament buildings today and asked Deputy Di Bagno to recommend him to the minister of posts and telegraphs for an increase in salary. | The pontiff’s brother is 76 years old and earns a half dollar daily. He is compelled to walk ten miles every day in order to carry the mails of his village to the Nantua station. | Later in the day the minister cordially received Sarto and after talking with him for a while willingly doubled his pay, and, what is more, appointed a postman to help him. |