Headlines: Round 2

Yes, writing heds is still a difficult task. After reviewing the reading, I was convinced that a large headline with a three-line deck would be the easiest way to go. So, you could say I was pretty excited to see that it was a requirement on this week’s assignment; however, when I set out to write my 1-18-3 heds, I was surprised to find it quite challenging. Instead, I preferred the two-column, two-line headlines. In this assignment, I also realized how the subject of the story can make writing the headline particularly difficult. I especially struggled with the stories about transgender people and Facebook. They are both long words that don’t lend themselves well to one-column headlines. I also struggled with the story about marijuana because I didn't know if it would be acceptable to substitute "weed" or "pot" for the lengthy (and proper) term. 

I found a lot of good examples of headlines in The New York Times and some not-so-great ones in The Huffington Post. It seems to me that not a lot of news organizations reference quotes in their headlines. When I do see them, I am still confused by the single quotation marks. I do find that some of the rules that seemed odd to me last week don’t bother me anymore. For example, replacing the word “and” with a comma seems to flow relatively easily to me now. 

Below are two editing mistakes (I completely forgot to post one last week!):

OOPS! That should say OUR, not ARE!

"Bravo said it was hard for her grandmother say she was scared of the unknown."
This is a quote from an article in the Standard Examiner. The journalist interviewed me about WSU's production of "Wit." In this sentence, she leaves out the word "to" after grandmother. Uh-oh.