Headlines hold more weight than I realized

For my job I have to scan through about 10-12 newspapers every single day. I’m looking for articles that pertain to my company, but as I scan I’m also reading through articles that interest me. Every morning that I’m going through clips, I’m putting so much emphasis on the titles and I never even realized it. Sometimes online articles can get away with a mediocre headline because they’re followed up by a short but more detailed sub-title, but most newspaper articles just get that once chance to draw the reader in. Going through the readings this week I really started to understand how much work goes into something that seems so effortless.

            As I read the different types of headlines, I started to pick out the ones that stood out and are effective in catching my attention. Headlines that opened with questions almost always make me stop at least long enough to read the question and consider an answer. These headlines can be tricky though because if they ask a question the reader can automatically answer, they might lose the reader because the article would have nothing to offer the reader. I noticed that I completely scan over headlines that are heavily saturated with information. Although I do like to know the details to a situation, too much too fast overwhelms me and I’ll move along.

Edit of the week:

This week instead of an edit, I wanted to share a topical photo. A few weeks ago we learned about using the correct words for certain items and brands. Things such as Kleenex and Q-tips are among the items that are regularly mislabeled removing credibility from the actual brands that carry those titles. This week I found an advertisement that Xerox had placed in a magazine actually calling attention to this problem. The company went so far as to request that readers stop using the term Xerox interchangeably with any form of copying. This really stood out to me because while it is a problem that is discussed behind the scenes (among students, professors and industry professionals) I had never seen it brought to the forefronts and discussed openly with the public.

It reads: 

If a trademark is misused it can simply become history.

Many iconic brands have joined the hallowed halls of trademarks lost, simply because their names were misused. And the same could happen to us, Xerox. Please help ensure it doesn't. Use Xerox only as an adjective to identify our products and services, such as Xerox copiers, not as a verb, "to Xerox," or a noun, "Xeroxes." With your help, the name Xerox can stay where it belongs, in the office and out of the museum. 

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