The copy reader’s ingenuity is often put to the test when it becomes necessary to use synonyms in the head to avoid repetition. He should be on his guard against using interchangeably words of similar meaning. To call a modern hotel an inn or a woman a “member of the weaker sex” verges on the ridiculous. A cat is a cat or an animal, never a “feline.”
THE QUESTION OF TENSE
Heads are usually written in the present tense unless they relate to a future event. (See [Figure 3].) This is the historical present, used instead of the past tense for the sake of greater vividness. “Defies His Accusers” drives home the recency of the occurrence. The reader feels that he is getting something new. “President Speaks at Albany” means that the President has just spoken, either on the day of publication or the previous day. It is news—the latest thing the President has done that is of public interest. It must not be inferred from this that the past tense is barred from the head. On the contrary there are occasions when it would be absurd to use anything else. The copy reader would write, “William Smith Dies” or “William Smith is Dead,” but in giving details of the dead man’s life it would be manifestly foolish to say, “Is Born in Missouri,” “Is a Civil War Veteran.” While the copy reader must observe the style of the paper that employs him, he is not expected to apply any rule slavishly in defiance of common sense.
[Figure 3.]—Four-deck head from the Chicago Record-Herald; a well-balanced, typographically neat head built according to a general plan followed by many newspapers.
2 HURT, 50 ROUTED
BY BLAZE IN FLATS
Tenants of Apartment-House
Are Driven to Street in
Night Attire.