# Is there a term for this style of headline?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 25, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418 "2018-01-25T00:53:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/1 "2018-01-25T00:53:43Z")
Lately I’ve noticed news headlines written in a particular style - instead of something like:
“West Palm Beach boy, 12, dies of flu”
you get:
“They thought it was a cold. Now he’s the third child to die of the flu in Florida.” ([link](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article196493919.html))
Has anyone else noticed this? Is there a name or term for such headlines?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/2 "2018-01-25T01:12:37Z")
I don’t know if there’s a term for it, but the reason is probably because, with most news nowadays being online, there isn’t as much need to scrimp for space.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/3 "2018-01-25T01:30:53Z")
It’s almost like click bait, but you’ll click on it because it’s not click bait since you don’t have to click on it to see what happens. They might actually get (more) clicks from people that are interested in reading it knowing (assuming) it’s not click bait garbage.
ETA, if it makes a difference, the title bar in my browser says “12 year old Florida boy dies from the flu”.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/4 "2018-01-25T01:46:53Z")
You Won’t Believe What This 12-Year-Old Boy Died From!
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/5 "2018-01-25T01:53:05Z")
Top 10 things 12 year old boys die from. #7 will BLOW YOUR MIND!
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### Author:  [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/6 "2018-01-25T01:56:26Z")
It strikes me as “magazine-style” writing rather than “newspaper.” It seems like something that would be not exactly the _title_ of a magazine story, but appear in large letters on the first page of the story inside the magazine. There’s probably a word for it. Subtitle? Subhead? I can imagine it as text superimposed on a full-page photo on the left side, while the actual story and perhaps a smaller photo appears on the right side.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/7 "2018-01-25T02:58:27Z")
I dunno, but the Washington Post seems to do this all the time. Currently in my Google news feed:
\*Ford Says It’s a New Era. Wall Street Isn’t Buying It. - New York Times
AT&T wants Congress to draft a net neutrality law. Here’s why that’s a big deal. - Washington Post
Disco nights? Rocket Lab launches glinting sphere into orbit - Washington Post
One year ago, Paul Ryan made a heartfelt promise to a ‘dreamer.’ Now she’s back. - Washington Post
\*
Can’t say that I’m a fan of the style. Clickbaity.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/8 "2018-01-25T03:41:50Z")
Tabloid?
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### Author:  [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/9 "2018-01-25T03:54:39Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> I dunno, but the Washington Post seems to do this all the time. Currently in my Google news feed:
>
> \*Ford Says It’s a New Era. Wall Street Isn’t Buying It. - New York Times
> AT&T wants Congress to draft a net neutrality law. Here’s why that’s a big deal. - Washington Post
> Disco nights? Rocket Lab launches glinting sphere into orbit - Washington Post
> One year ago, Paul Ryan made a heartfelt promise to a ‘dreamer.’ Now she’s back. - Washington Post
> \*
> Can’t say that I’m a fan of the style. Clickbaity.
Exactly the kinds of headlines I’m asking about - I’m seeing this (strange, to me) 2-sentence format more and more lately - I’m not a fan either.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/10 "2018-01-25T04:03:47Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> I dunno, but the Washington Post seems to do this all the time. Currently in my Google news feed:
>
> \*Ford Says It’s a New Era. Wall Street Isn’t Buying It. - New York Times
> AT&T wants Congress to draft a net neutrality law. Here’s why that’s a big deal. - Washington Post
> Disco nights? Rocket Lab launches glinting sphere into orbit - Washington Post
> One year ago, Paul Ryan made a heartfelt promise to a ‘dreamer.’ Now she’s back. - Washington Post
> \*
Yes, it seems to be online clickbait.
They aren’t the same in an actual paper copy of the _Washington Post_.
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### Author:  [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/11 "2018-01-25T07:24:34Z")
I’ve heard the word “teaser” used for this, many years ago and long before the internet. Gossip magazines still do it.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/12 "2018-01-25T07:33:17Z")
> [@zombywoof](#):
>
> Exactly the kinds of headlines I’m asking about - I’m seeing this (strange, to me) 2-sentence format more and more lately - I’m not a fan either.
Yeah, this is a little different from the standard clickbait, like **Darren Garrison** and **snfaulkner** ’s examples–there’s no huge abundance of capital letters, exclamation points, or the usual teaser intros (“You won’t believe”, “Top N things”, etc.). They’re usually of the form “Here’s a thing that happened. Here’s why you should care.” or “This thing happened. Then this other thing happened as a result.” or “So-and-so said X. Then what’s-his-face said Y.” It’s bad, but not quite at the level of BuzzFeed or the like.
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### Author:  [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/13 "2018-01-25T08:56:54Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#):
>
> Tabloid?
I was thinking “tabloid” too, since it’s characteristic of tabloid journalism that it tends to emphasise up the human interest aspect of stories, and also to sensationalise them slightly.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/14 "2018-01-25T09:34:34Z")
This led me to have a look at today’s papers here
Print edition:
Presidents Club to close after sexual harassment revelations - Financial Times (this is after an FT journalist revealed that the men at a charity event were groping the waitresses)
SEXISTS AND THE CITY - Metro (a free London tabloid)
Online Edition:
Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show - FT
Grumpy cat wins £500,000 payout over coffee company using her image - Metro (the groping story doesn’t seem to feature anywhere)
Over here we just call it “Tabloid” or “Red Top” journalism.
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### Author:  [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/15 "2018-01-25T14:53:53Z")
Yellow journalism – sensationalism and exaggeration designed to cause readers (or cable news viewers) to be afraid or angry.
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### Author:  [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/16 "2018-01-25T17:53:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> You Won’t Believe What This 12-Year-Old Boy Died From!
I was expecting, “Twelve-year-old boy dies from this one weird trick!”.
Not trying to hijack this discussion, but there is another headline style that really bugs me because it looks “wrong” to me, and that is the style of putting the attribution at the far end of the headline. Something like, “Twelve-year-old boy dies from this one weird trick: Coroner”. To me, it makes it look like the Coroner is the “one weird trick”. I think it would read better if it said, “Coroner: Twelve-year-old boy dies from blah blah”.
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/17 "2018-01-25T18:40:59Z")
Deck?
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### Author:  [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/18 "2018-01-25T18:51:37Z")
Clickbait.
Be it your local news or major outlets, there is a very tiny amount or money to be made if they get you to open the article. Very tiny becomes very big money if you get enough clicks. It is what all news is based upon now, clicks. If you read something like Google News you will see the very same story told the very same way, often from the very same sources, but the lead-in title will keep changing as if it were a different story, or adding more detail. Nope, just a different title to generate more clicks, from people who have already read the story.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-this-style-of-headline/807418/19 "2018-01-26T05:19:22Z")
_Deck_ is what it was called in the old days, when you’d have three or so levels of headline, all on the same story:
TITANIC SINKS
Rams Iceberg in North Atlantic
_1,500 reported lost on ‘unsinkable’ vessel_
Each level was called a deck.
I’m not close enough to the industry to know if editors have come up with a name for this new style, but Tuesday’s _New York Times_ contained an excellent example, one that would have made all my journalism teachers sigh that I really needed to get with the program:
_**Kentucky School
Shooting Is 11th of
Year. It’s Jan. 23.**_