I thought the point of a headline is to grab attention? To very succinctly state the newness or uniqueness of the story, or to at least cleverly entertain through use of puns and phraseology. The point of headlines is never to bore or to extend a full invitation to the reader to look elsewhere for a story to read.In that vein, words and phrases like "ongoing," "continues," and "remains the same" are to be avoided like the plague in headlines and news writing. Such terms mean that nothing's changed. Nothing's new. So why is the journalist writing about it? What's new? Where's the news?
Which brings me to a Wall Street Journal headline and story this weekend (link at bottom): The headline reads, "Obama to Push New Spending," and the story's first sentence says that "President Barack Obama will call for new government spending on infrastructure, education and research in his State of the Union address Tuesday."
Obama to push for new and bigger spending? Why not just write a headline that says, "Sun Rises in the East." Or how about, "Winter Expected to be Cold." Or I got it: "Alabama $hithouse Wreaks." Or maybe: "Lady Gaga Shocks."
Well, invitation accepted, Wall Street Journal. I read that headline and first sentence, and it was on to the next story for me. But I will leave you with a boring and obvious headline of my own, under which you can feel free to file this one away: "Rager Says Entertain Me."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704754304576096171216582908.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond
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