Name: DANALETH P.

DINAHUM Course: CAMPUS JOURNALISM

Program & Year: BSED 3-ENGLISH Date: APRIL 14, 2023

1. What is headline writing?

Headline writing is the process of crafting a compelling headline that

communicates a distinct benefit to the consumer. Many writers spend more time on
their headlines than any other piece of copy.

In any form and style of writing, the headline or title best describes what the
article is all about. Imagine newspaper articles with no headlines? How will the
readers be able to determine and identify what these articles are about? Not only
that, newspaper and magazine articles without headlines can be confusing and
annoying. In journalism, news headlines do not only capture the audiences’ attention
but also give a complete overview of what the news article is all about. It is
straightforward and accurate, and should be able to answer the who, what, where,
when, why and how questions. By definition, a headline is a set of words set found at
the head of a passage for introduction purposes. Specifically, it is found at the top of
an article or page in a newspaper or magazine. 

2. What are the functions of headline?

Headlines introduce, frame, and contextualize. They award significance,

communicate gravitas, and reinforce status. Headlines inform and misinform. They
are a crucial part of how news turns into a story. In the long term, they play a part in
how stories are retold and recorded, thus eventually turning into memories and
histories.

Moreover, the presentation of headlines may have changed over time, but the
form remains the same. The language is meant to be short, summative, and sharp.
The words bring the crucial elements of the story to the forefront, and the grammar
and syntax drum up intensity, if needed. The verbal economy of headlines is tight
and it must work quickly and efficiently. It is meant to capture the attention of the
reader without, ideally, compromising the essence of the story. Because headlines
not only lure, they also direct the attention of the reader. And in doing so, they frame
a story. They offer a lens through which to understand it.

They kick start the cognitive process. They frame the issue at hand, by selecting,
as media scholar Robert Entman famously wrote, “some aspects of a perceived
reality [to] make them more salient in a communicating text.” Framing is guided by
news values that prioritize recency, urgency, and proximity; the economy and
political affairs; and privileged nations and dominant ideologies while also appealing
to viewers by being commonsensical, entertaining, and dramatic. News values are
about turning events into stories, and headlines present the first step in doing so.
3. What are the guidelines in headline writing?

1. Summarize the subject matter. Whether you’re writing a headline for an online
news site, blog post, or print publication, you only have one short line at the top of a
page to get across the main point of your story. Boil your narrative down to its most
basic point, and incorporate that into your headline, so potential readers want to read
on for additional details.

2. Find the hook without spoiling the ending. The purpose of a hook sentence (or
header) is to grab attention and give your reader a reason to invest their time and
energy into your writing. You want your headline to stand out, but you don’t want to
give away the most exciting part of the story in the headline. A good header offers
enough detail to intrigue the reader, keeping them reading until they reach the end.

3. Be straightforward. When developing an eye-catching online header, it may be

tempting to write a vague headline that prompts readers to click to find out more, but
you should avoid doing this because it can mislead your readers. Avoid deliberately
misleading readers with a clickbait header that doesn’t truly represent the story’s
contents because it can adversely affect your publication’s integrity.

4. Make an emotional appeal. If you are writing a feature article, you may have more
control over your story’s tone and narrative than with a conventional news article.
Feature stories rely on a writer’s ability to maintain a reader’s attention throughout an
entire piece. Still, one of the more challenging parts is getting them interested
enough to read the story in the first place. Your headline is the first thing readers will
see, so it needs to pack a punch or set up a question readers will want your story to
answer.

5. Proofread and fact-check. Always proofread your headlines to catch any typos,
missing words, punctuation marks in the wrong place, or incorrect word usage. If
you’re using a thesaurus to find replacement words or synonyms, ensure you pick
the correct usage. Fact-check the information in your headline, especially if it's
statistics or counts, to ensure that you are providing the most accurate information.