Why the Head is Based on the “Lead.” As in the normal type of news story all the important facts are given in the lead, the headline, as the bulletin of these facts, is based largely, if not entirely, on the material in the lead. One reason for giving all the essential details in the lead, as has already been pointed out, is that the story may be cut down before or after it is in type. This possibility that the story may be cut down is an additional reason why the headline should be based on the first part of the story, for if the headline contains only the substance of the lead, it need not be rewritten when any part of the story is cut off.
The Tone of the Head. To adapt the character of the headline to the tone of the story is important for the best effect of both. The head should prepare the reader for what is to follow. A humorous or witty headline is well adapted for a story written in a light vein but usually is out of keeping with a plain news story. A suggestion of pathos even may be given in the headline when the story warrants it. Efforts to be funny or tearful, however, ought always to be carefully considered and should not be made unless the circumstances justify them.
Avoiding Repetition. It has come to be a generally recognized point that there should be a minimum amount of repetition of words throughout the head. The same word should not be used more than once either in the same deck or in different decks unless the lack of synonyms makes it absolutely necessary, or unless emphasis is gained by so doing. This, of course, applies in only a limited degree to the necessary connective words, such as conjunctions and prepositions, and parts of the verb “to be.” The writer of heads should have at his command a number of synonymous words and expressions, so that, when he must refer to the same person, object, or action a second or third time, he may be able to vary the expression.
The Interrelation of the Decks. If the grammatical subject remains the same in statements made in two or more decks, it need not be repeated, as it will be understood with the verbs in the following deck or decks. In the head given below, the subject of the verb “stricken” in the first deck, serves as the subject of the verbs “found” in the second deck, “is” in the third, and “will be taken” in the fourth.
The image above is a headline constructed of four decks of various forms which say | GUARD STRICKEN ON PRISON WALL | Found in His Sentry Box at the Penitentiary Helpless From Paralysis | IS A CIVIL WAR VETERAN | Will be Taken to His Meigs County Home Unless He Grows Worse. |
Since the subject, when suppressed in any deck, is understood to be the same as that in the deck just preceding, care must be taken to have the verb agree with it grammatically. There is a not unnatural tendency, for example, to use in one deck a singular verb with a collective noun like “common council,” or “faculty” (of a college), and then, changing the idea to the members of these bodies, to use in the next deck a plural verb with the subject suppressed. Thus, in the following head, “tariff board” should not be made the subject of “reports” and “declare.”
The image above is a head constructed of two decks. They say | TARIFF BOARD REPORTS ON ALL WOOL SCHEDULES | Declare That Many of the Rates are Too High.
Failure to remember that a verb without a subject is assumed to have the same subject as the statement in the deck immediately preceding, not that in any other of the preceding decks, also leads to confusion. The following head, for example, is poor because it is not clear that “president” is the subject of “gives,” since “governor” is the subject of the statement in the preceding deck; nor is it evident that “troops” of the first deck is the subject of “to camp” in the fourth.