The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10
HEADLINE ARTISTS
MOST WIDELY READ
Writers of Novels Do Not Com
pare With Them
SOME FASHIONS in THE ART
It Is Question of Putting Much Mat
ter Into Little Space In
Hurry-The Work Re-
quires Brains.
SOME FASHIONS in THE ART

The authors whose writings are read by
the greatest number of persons are the
headline writer's for the daily newspapers.
The writer's of the best sellers among
books do not compare with them.
For advertising purposes it is custom
airy to assume that every copy of a news
paper is seen by five readers. If this as
sumption is correct every copy of a news
paper of a quarter of million daily circu-
lation is seen by a million and a. quarter
of readers. If anything in a newspaper
is read it is the headlines, says the New
York Sun.
Writers of books, of magazine articles,
of much of the matter in the weekly and
daily papers write at their leisure. The
news reports for the daily press are part
of them. written hurriedly. The news
headlines are put on with little time for
thought.
Nearly every newspaper has its own
style of headlines, permitting the use OF
only a certain number of letters, or with
in few letters of that number in a
line. This requirement engages the atten-
ton of the headline writer and occupies
part of the brief time in which he has
10 do his work.
Yet much depends upon the ready skill
and ability of the headline man. No mat
ter how newsy and bright a paper may
be, it can be made to appear undressing
and dull if the headlines do not come up
TO the level of the text #....a
And, too, the conscientious headline
writer does not make heads that the text
does not bear out In the brief time at
his disposal. in the limited space at his
command and within the restrictions inn
posed by the headline style and typogra-
ply of hfs paper ne must make the most
of the material which he is to introduce
Within the memory Of newspaper work
ers and readers not yet old there have
been great changes in headline methods
A style of headline that was so common
half a century ago as to be almost uni
Versal may lie characterized as the wood
en- head, for example, COMMON COUN-
Gil PROCEEDINGS; Resolutions Adopt
ed, Motions Carried and Ordinance
Passed
The Catch Line.
a radical departure from this was the
catch word title. heading that was in
tended to catch the attention of the read
er by setting forth in a word, usually in
large black letters followed by one or
more scare marks, the nub of the story
beneath IT, as. for instance: SMASH
UPn' followed by lines in smaller type
explaining that there had been coils
ion of railway trains somewhere. This
style of head IS still used by some news
papers in an aggravated form and some.
times with colored inks
Another sort Of headline that was in use
some twenty years ago much more than
now may, for want Of a more accurately
descriptive word, be termed the ingenious
head The making of ii required some
ingenuity in combining words, SO that by
sight or sound by both they would at
n no 10
wit in the head of the writer was a help
to him.
An example of this sort Of headline
which will fairly illustrate the meaning
was written over story from Il New Jer-
sey town telling Of a ghost scare thar
proved to be the work of some mischiev-
Gus individuals. The top line was;
'liocuspocus in Hoholius"
The latest scheme of newspaper head
lines which has been generally adopted Is
to set forth the most interesting feature
OF the story in the top line and In the
subsequent lines to tell the story as fully
as the space devoted to the heading will
permit. This gives the pith Of the news
to the reader who only glances at the
headlines
With this style of head usually goes a
summary of the story in the opening par
agraph. With the headlines and this
paragraph the reader gets the story in
brief from beginning to end, and in what
follows he gets the Details If he Is sur
ticiently interested to read on
There is a form of newspaper heading
known as the display head which breaks
away from the newspapers style of head
lines and Is used only for matter of a
very startling or important character In
these headlines the writer, with few re-
strictions as 10 the papers customary
style endeavors to set forth the news as
strilNngiy as possible few newspapers
use display heads every day in every edi-
ton on every page and In almost every
column so Unfortunately that when
they have news really worth a display
head they are powerless to indicate Its
importance
The force of the newspaper headline
has often been exemplifed. A headline
brought the word mugwump into common
Use in this country, not, however, at first
as a word of political significance. Refer
ring to some act of the former autocrat
of Asbury Park. a headline writer wrote
"Mugwump Bradley" did so and so. Then
arose a newspaper discussion as to the
meaning of the word, and it was threshed
out of the chaff of Indian lore.
Later, when Theodore Roosevelt, as a
representative of his district at the state
capital, was active in an oleomargarine
Investigation In New York city, a reporter
mentioned him as the stawart young
mugwump of reform" Still later the word
turned up in its well understood political
significance.
Gave Edison Nickname.
headline gave to Thomas A Edison