# US headline writing conventions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633 "2007-01-19T21:45:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/21 "2007-01-20T08:15:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] The main thing to stress is that the examples in the OP are completely within the realm of what you can expect to see in the NYC tabloids - sooner or later, though that isn’t the most _common_ kind of phrasing you will see. [/QUOTE] You must be reading some different version of the Post than I, because I haven’t seen it. Admittedly, I only read the front page headlines, because I would not be caught dead actually purchasing and opening something so base and common as the _Post_. But let’s take a sampling of headlines from their website: \*\* CATHOLIC PARISHES SHUT DOWN REVEALED: LINDSAY’S LUSH REHAB N.M. GOV TO RUN FOR PREZ. SHAWN’S STORY OF HOPE \*\* And here are a few from the Daily Snooze: \*\* COP WIDOW’S WORDS BRING JURY TO TEARS NY LEADING WAY IN CANCER FIGHT MIKE: WHY ZAP POOR CON-ED? \*\* None of these conform to the grammatical bizarrity of the OP’s example. The only one that might be a bit obscure is the last one from the Snooze, which you’d only understand if you knew that NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been defending the electricity company (Consolidated Edison) for their mediocre response to last year’s nine-day blackout in Queens. So tabloid headlines certainly use a great deal of puns, abbreviations and local references, but nothing so bizarre as the examples in the OP. At least, not that I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/22 "2007-01-20T15:10:57Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] Am I the first to say YES, I have absolutely seen that type of construction in many a headline, specifically in the New York Post and the New York Daily News. I am in fact very surprised that fellow-Brooklynite Friedo has never come across it. I have not lived everywhere across the country, but based on responses here we are dealing with a New York phenomenon exclusively, and probably only two newspapers at that. Frankly I find it weird too. I always notice it because it is so awkward. The main thing to stress is that the examples in the OP are completely within the realm of what you can expect to see in the NYC tabloids - sooner or later, though that isn’t the most _common_ kind of phrasing you will see. [/QUOTE] **Ellis** , you weren’t the first, **Polycarp** said the same thing in post 2, but this was contradicted by both my brief visit to the NYDN website as well as by **friedo**. This means I can give the editor the benefit of the doubt, but I’d still like to see for myself real life examples of US headlines written in that way, to ascertain if they are really as ungrammatical as my colleague’s. Here are a couple more examples from “my” site, which still haven’t been corrected. **Says Police chief is mistaken in Assistant DA’s killing** **Reveal names, companies, in major Customs smuggling** The Police chief one is even more outlandish than any of the others. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/23 "2007-01-20T18:11:49Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] The main thing to stress is that the examples in the OP are completely within the realm of what you can expect to see in the NYC tabloids - sooner or later, though that isn’t the most _common_ kind of phrasing you will see. [/QUOTE] I completely disagree. I occassionally read NY tabloids on line for fun (they are a good read) and have never ever seen such mangled grammar as in the OP. Show us an example and we’ll believe you. I’m willing to bet good money that no such construction has ever appeared in the NY tabloids, except possibly in error. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/24 "2007-01-20T18:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] **Says Police chief is mistaken in Assistant DA’s killing** **Reveal names, companies, in major Customs smuggling** [/QUOTE] Wow. Those are atrocious. You’re being too charitable giving your boss the benefit of a doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/25 "2007-01-20T18:29:10Z")
Martha, who makes copyediting policy at the website you’re working at? Or is there no policy there, so they just let everyone write what they feel like? If you make policy, then tell everyone that starting headlines with a verb with an understood subject isn’t allowed. It doesn’t seem to be done anywhere in the English-speaking world except maybe at a couple of New York tabloids (and there’s some dispute about even that). If you have input to the policy, tell them that that’s what you recommend. Don’t most newspapers have copyediting policies that tell writers what level of informality is acceptable and what style will be used in news articles and headlines? ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/26 "2007-01-20T19:03:13Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Martha, who makes copyediting policy at the website you’re working at? Or is there no policy there, so they just let everyone write what they feel like? If you make policy, then tell everyone that starting headlines with a verb with an understood subject isn’t allowed. It doesn’t seem to be done anywhere in the English-speaking world except maybe at a couple of New York tabloids (and there’s some dispute about even that). If you have input to the policy, tell them that that’s what you recommend. Don’t most newspapers have copyediting policies that tell writers what level of informality is acceptable and what style will be used in news articles and headlines? [/QUOTE] Ah, if only. The headlines are the least of it. When you get to the actual article text, it’s enough to make the eyes bleed. I’ve said all this to the editor, as well as to the owner, and their attitude is - “yes, we know - but it’s not a priority”. They said they would pay me to do the copy-editing if they had more funds, but even so the editor doesn’t really like the idea because it would complicate the process which, as you guessed, involves three or four writers doing their thing (using Babelfish in some cases, see the thread I linked to in an earlier post) and putting it up willy nilly. What they should do is drop one contributor and use that money to pay for someone to do proofreading. (Even better would be to drop all contributors and hire three or four people who actually know how to write in English!) A little less content would not be so bad if it is better quality content. I’ve been as outspoken as I feel is possible, going as far as to say that most English speakers will be put off by such poor writing, but as none of them are native English speakers, they can’t realise just how bad it is. The fact that even after me pointing out the particular error that I highlighted in this thread, two items are still up with headlines like this shows what I’m up against. They do get some reader feedback apparently, in fact that’s how I ended up covering the weekend content. Every writer needs an editor, and I feel a little uneasy about writing and posting articles without another pair of eyes looking over my work. It could be that the editor feels somewhat rattled by someone who is rocking his cozy little boat? I’ll have to re-emphasise that I’m not interested in a full time office job but that I’m happy to do stuff from home at all hours. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/27 "2007-01-20T19:17:12Z")
OK. Here’s one example. Read the third paragraph down in this link, the part about Gina Lollobridgida: > **[History of Newspapers: New York Daily News Part 2](https://www.trivia-library.com/a/History-of-newspapers-the-new-york-daily-news-part-2.htm)** > > About the history of the United States newspaper The New York Daily News, information about the tabloid and some of their scoops. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/28 "2007-01-20T19:30:12Z")
It’s not just New York. Check out the Detroit News: [http://www.rarenewspapers.com/viewissue.aspx?ID=216276](http://www.rarenewspapers.com/viewissue.aspx?ID=216276) ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/29 "2007-01-20T19:38:54Z")
The practice of omiting the subject from a headline used to be much more common (newspapers have their fads, too). I figure most editors got away from it for the reason folks in this thread object to it: it reads weird. It’s worthwhile to reiterate **RealityChuck** ’s comments about space limitations, since that is what drives the “oddball” constructions found in heads. (But some papers seem to be getting sloppy about making headlines “count out”; i.e. fill the available space. Course, using 60- or 72-point type for multi-line one-column heads virtually guarantees the right edge will be very ragged; mebbe they should go back to center-justifying such headlines.) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/30 "2007-01-20T19:59:39Z")
I can attest to the existence of these odd headline constructions. I remember coming across examples last year in a book on the St Valentine’s Day Massacre. The book had photos of several Chicago newspapers of the period, several of which used the strange imperative. I wrote to a word forum concerning it because it was the first time I’d ever seen such a usage. There I was informed that this was a common usage in the past, although rarer now. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/31 "2007-01-20T21:07:28Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] OK. Here’s one example. Read the third paragraph down in this link, the part about Gina Lollobridgida: [http://www.trivia-library.com/a/History-of-newspapers-the-new-york-daily-news-part-2.htm](http://www.trivia-library.com/a/History-of-newspapers-the-new-york-daily-news-part-2.htm) [/QUOTE] OK, I suppose I didn’t limit the search to modern newspapers, but those examples are from over a half-century ago. This is not standard headlining practice anywhere now. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/32 "2007-01-20T21:34:47Z")
I think I may see where I inadvertently led **Martha** astray: The subjectless active-vocie headlines **were** the construction used by a number of tabloids, including the two survivors, some years back. I remember seeing them in the 1960s, when my relatives got the Daily News and the old Daily Mirror. Whether they are common today (apparently not) is something a Bigappelitarian would have to speak to. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/33 "2007-01-20T22:04:35Z")
No doubt, we are talking about a practice that is old-fashioned, passe, and frowned upon, but I swear it isn’t dead. I’ve only been reading the NYC papers since the 1990s and I see it regularly. Maybe it’s rare on the front page nowadays, but in the back pages, where space is tight between the ads, NAB 5 IN HEIST or BUST LOTTO SCAM may still appear. “Common”? It depends… is once a week common? I found those 50 year-old citations with a cursory, haphazard search. If anyone wants to sign up to access the New York Post archive on-line I guarantee more recent examples. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/34 "2007-01-20T22:21:59Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] It’s hard to say that anything, other than a misspelling or typo, can ever be wrong in an American newspaper headline. They are not conventional writing, either formal or informal, but more like advertisements for the contents of the article. They serve no function but to draw the eye and express the greatest sales value in the concisest space. [/QUOTE] I disagree completely. Headlines in U.S. newspapers are highly convention-driven, and the examples in OP are clearly marked (as counter-conventional). I’d list the conventions, but I’ve got to go now; but all you have to do is open a copy of the Times to see. Okay, well, let’s see… 1. present tense for recent events 2. past tense for things long ago 3. articles dropped 4. copula (be) dropped whenever possible 5. passive (without “be” or “get”) 6. dropped helping verbs with progressive aspect …there’s more… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/35 "2007-01-20T22:42:56Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] No doubt, we are talking about a practice that is old-fashioned, passe, and frowned upon, but I swear it isn’t dead. I’ve only been reading the NYC papers since the 1990s and I see it regularly. Maybe it’s rare on the front page nowadays, but in the back pages, where space is tight between the ads, NAB 5 IN HEIST or BUST LOTTO SCAM may still appear. [/QUOTE] I suppose I may be wrong. It’s a good thing I’m not a betting man. 🙂 Although it’s not yet been shown this has been used in modern day headlines, I do believe that you have seen them. What I don’t understand is why anyone would write a headline like that these days, being that they are seen as very awkward, and that they can easily be rewritten (e.g. BUST LOTTO SCAM = LOTTO SCAM BUSTED.) Especially with modern typesetting, headline writing is a bit more flexible. Two extra letters is not going to throw a headline off. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/36 "2007-01-20T22:54:58Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Aponte Jr.] If anyone wants to sign up to access the New York Post archive on-line I guarantee more recent examples. [/QUOTE] You can search recent articles for free. You do need a search term, though. I used “the,” and it gave me 2,916. I read through 256 of them until coming across this: > [@](#): > > SLAY RAP IN 1974 SHOOTING > By ERIKA MARTINEZ and DENISE BUFFA > > January 18, 2007 – A career criminal who shot a man over a dice game in the South Bronx more than three decades ago has been re-arrested and indicted for murder now that his victim has died, authorities said yesterday. I still can’t figure out what that headline means, but I think it fits the OP’s grammar. I think. Perhaps somebody can translate that for me. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/37 "2007-01-20T22:58:20Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I suppose I may be wrong. It’s a good thing I’m not a betting man. 🙂 Although it’s not yet been shown this has been used in modern day headlines, I do believe that you have seen them. What I don’t understand is why anyone would write a headline like that these days, being that they are seen as very awkward, and that they can easily be rewritten (e.g. BUST LOTTO SCAM = LOTTO SCAM BUSTED.) Especially with modern typesetting, headline writing is a bit more flexible. Two extra letters is not going to throw a headline off. [/QUOTE] No, it won’t – when you have computerized typesetting (actually producing a photoffset master) and can go with 32.5-point type. But in the day when they actually set type, your headline needed to **fit** , and to be one of a few specific point sizes, the bigger the better. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/38 "2007-01-20T23:45:57Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] No, it won’t – when you have computerized typesetting (actually producing a photoffset master) and can go with 32.5-point type. But in the day when they actually set type, your headline needed to **fit** , and to be one of a few specific point sizes, the bigger the better. [/QUOTE] When I did my stint on a copy desk, that’s exactly how we got headlines. We were basically given a count of how many lines and a point count (I’m not exactly sure whether it was called a point count or something else). Our little green screened terminals (anybody remember the names of these?) would give you a count, and IIRC, our headlines would have to be with ±2 of the specified count. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/39 "2007-01-21T01:46:39Z")
Three days ago in the Daily News: [http://www.nydailynews.com/01-17-2007/news/story/489330p-412105c.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/01-17-2007/news/story/489330p-412105c.html) and last month… [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nydailynews/access/1172361431.html?dids=1172361431:1172361431&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+1%2C+2006&author=THOMAS+ZAMBITO+DAILY+NEWS+STAFF+WRITER&pub=New+York+Daily+News&edition=&startpage=97&desc=BUST+2+DOCS+IN+FRAUD+SCAM](http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nydailynews/access/1172361431.html?dids=1172361431:1172361431&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+1%2C+2006&author=THOMAS+ZAMBITO+DAILY+NEWS+STAFF+WRITER&pub=New+York+Daily+News&edition=&startpage=97&desc=BUST+2+DOCS+IN+FRAUD+SCAM) ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633/40 "2007-01-21T02:46:10Z")
OK, now I’m satisfied that this wasn’t a product of the editor’s fevered imagination. Thanks for taking the time to come up with these examples, **pulykamell** and **Ellis** , and thanks for the clarification, **Polycarp**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-headline-writing-conventions/388633.md?page=3)