AY Honors/Journalism/Answer Key

A headline is a sentence of text at the top of a newspaper article, explaining or at least related to the nature of the article below it. Headlines are usually written in bold text and in a much larger font than the text in the actual article.

Most newspapers feature a very large headline on their front page, dramatically describing the biggest news event of the day.

Famous example headlines

• WAR BREAKS OUT IN EUROPE
• ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA
• PRESIDENT SHOT DEAD
• MAN WALKS ON MOON

The film The Shipping News has an illustrative exchange between the protagonist, who is learning how to write for a local newspaper, and his publisher:

• Publisher: It's finding the center of your story, the beating heart of it, that's what makes a reporter. You have to start by making up some headlines. You know: short, punchy, dramatic headlines. Now, have a look, [pointing at dark clouds gathering in the sky over the ocean] what do you see? Tell me the headline.
• Protagonist: HORIZON FILLS WITH DARK CLOUDS?
• Publisher: IMMINENT STORM THREATENS VILLAGE.
• Protagonist: But what if no storm comes?
• Publisher: VILLAGE SPARED FROM DEADLY STORM.

Occasionally, the need to keep headlines brief leads to unintentional double meanings, if not double entendres. For example, if the story is about the president of Iraq trying to acquire weapons, the headline might be IRAQI HEAD SEEKS ARMS. Or if some agricultural legislation is defeated in the House of Representatives, the title could read FARMER BILL DIES IN HOUSE.

See also

• headlinese
• "Headlines" (from The Tonight Show)