Extra, extra! Read all about it!

I had a lot of fun looking at different headlines this week. I found some that followed the ‘rules’ we were given and some that didn’t.

Here are a few examples of headlines that broke the rules:

1.      Information sought about sex offender who used alias, worked with teens

OGDEN — A Weber County man who used an alias and supervised teens in his church congregation while he was on the state's sex offender registry was arrested for investigation of felony charges, according to the Weber County Sheriff's Office.

Tip 11: The headline should be worded differently from the lead. Both the lead and the headline use the same words, ‘alias’ and ‘sex offender.’ I think that different words could be used to avoid redundancy. 

2.      3 men sought after 'large' amount of blood found in abandoned car

Tip 4: The headline should be specific. What does ‘large amount’ mean? And where and when was the car found. This headline does not give any specifics. I think this headline could be rewritten.

 
Here are a few examples of headlines that followed the rules: 

1.      Questar to reduce natural gas rates

Tip 2: In headlines, infinitives may be used to indicate future action. This headline uses ‘to reduce’ to show that Questar will be reducing gas rates in the future. 

2.      Police: Boys playing with stolen guns led to accidental shooting, suicide

3.      Police: Men involved in 2 thefts punched employees

Tip 7: In headlines, a colon may be used to indicate says or said. This headline follows this rule. The colon takes place of ‘police say.’

4.      Utahns re-elect 3 U.S. Reps.; 1 of 3 amendments pass

Tip 6: A semicolon may be substituted for a period between two sentences. In this headline, the semicolon separates the two ideas of different sentences. 

5.      Exposing hidden rust under car windshields

Tip 9: The headline should use concrete nouns and stron verbs. This headline uses the strong verb ‘exposing.’ This is much more interesting than say, finding.

Editing mistake: I was listening to the radio the other day and heard this song

"The Closer You Get"

The closer you get, the further I fall
I'll be over the edge now in no time at all.
I'm fallin' faster and faster and faster with no time to stall
The closer you get, the further I fall.

The things that you say to me
The look on your face
Brings out the man in me
Do I see a trace in your eyes of love

The closer you get, (oh baby) the further I fall
I'll be over the edge now in no time at all.
I'm fallin' faster and faster and faster with no time to stall
The closer you get, (em hmm) the further I fall

Could I be dreamin'
Is this really real
'Cause there's something magic
The way that I feel in your arms tonight.

The closer you get, (oh yeah) the further I fall
I'll be over the edge now in no time at all.
I'm fallin' faster and faster and faster with no time to stall
The closer you get, (em hmm) the further I fall.

Keep fallin', oh, yeah, yeah, keep fallin',
Mm, fallin', oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fallin'.

Yes, I'm fallin' (Yes, I'm fallin' Yes, I'm fallin')
Yes, I'm fallin' (Yes, I'm fallin' Yes, I'm fallin')
Yes, we're fallin' (Yes, we're fallin' Yes, we're fallin').

The closer you get, (oh yeah) the further I fall (um hmm)
I'll be over the edge now in no time at all
I'm fallin' faster and faster and faster with no time to stall
(Um hm) The closer you get, (em hmm) the further I fall.

The closer you get, the further I fall
I'll be over the edge now in no time at all.
I'm fallin' faster and faster and faster with no time to stall
The closer you get, the further I fall.

See anything wrong? How about the line ‘The closer you get, the further I fall.’ This is the incorrect usage of further/farther. When referring to distance, the correct word to use is farther.