(From the archives, a historic memo)
From: Meyerson, Charles
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 2:46 PM
Subject: Thoughts on “headlines that work”
I’ll preface these with the usual cautions:
-- Many of the techniques below can be overused, for sure. NOT Nos. 1 and 2, though.
-- The urge to sensationalize is a constant danger; headlines must accurately represent stories, ideally drawing on the universe of words and phrases contained within those stories. (See No. 10 below.) That said, if the heads don’t work, the words that follow will simply not get read (or, on the Internet, clicked). So they certainly should be as sensational AS POSSIBLE — within the realm of accuracy.
From: Meyerson, Charles
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 2:46 PM
Subject: Thoughts on “headlines that work”
I’ll preface these with the usual cautions:
-- Many of the techniques below can be overused, for sure. NOT Nos. 1 and 2, though.
-- The urge to sensationalize is a constant danger; headlines must accurately represent stories, ideally drawing on the universe of words and phrases contained within those stories. (See No. 10 below.) That said, if the heads don’t work, the words that follow will simply not get read (or, on the Internet, clicked). So they certainly should be as sensational AS POSSIBLE — within the realm of accuracy.