This document defines and describes different types of news and headlines. It discusses hard news versus soft news, with hard news focusing on events and facts while soft news provides more analysis and context. The document also outlines various headline styles like banner, crossline, and flush left headlines. It provides examples and rules for writing effective headlines, including using active voice, avoiding verbs, and not beginning with numbers. The goal is to write attention-grabbing headlines that efficiently summarize the key information.

1. NEWS, TYPES OF NEWS, TYPES OF
HEADLINES
AAC-640
Publication, Production and Editing
Dr. Arpita Sharma
Assistant professor,
Dept. of Agricultural Communication,
College of Agriculture,
GBPUA&T, Pantnagar

2. NEWS
 A news is what everyone wants to know about.
 Anything timely that interests a large number of
persons and the best news is that which has the
greatest interest for the greatest number.
 News is timely report of events, facts, opinions
and interests about a significant no of people.
 News is an abstract concept whose shape
changes as the interest of human change.

3. The definition of news items is dependent on:
1. The size of community. (Reader).
2. Periodicity of the publication. (Weekly, Daily).
3. Social character and economic.( base of the
community).
4. Focus of attention or emphasis of the
community. (Provincial city’s municipality
election may not become headline in the
newspapers of Delhi or Calcutta.

4. Inverted Pyramid
Most important facts
Next most
important
Next most
important
Next

5. Characteristics of a good
Summary Lead
The first paragraph of a news story contains the
most important information.
This is called the Summary Lead, because it
summarizes the most important facts gathered about
the story.
•Briefest possible summary of a story, usually no more
than 25 words.
•Includes only those 5 Ws and 1 H that are important.

6. What are the Ws and H
•Who
•What
•When
•Where
•Why
•Whom
•How

7. DIFFERENT TYPES OF NEWS
 Hard news
 Soft news

8. HARD NEWS
 Event oriented.
 Centred on “What, when, where and why.”
 Major thrust of newspaper is hard news.
 Hard news covers news on serious crime e.g terrorist
attacks
 Politics, Disasters eg: an earthquake

9. SOFT NEWS
 Soft news are news about entertainment, human
interest stories and less serious crime.
 More on analysis, reasons, background and
interpretation.
 Mere account of events do not satisfy the readers.
 They would like to enter beneath the upper crust
of hard news.

10. INGREDIENTS OF THE NEWS
Timeliness: News must be timely and new.
Not arouse interest if it is already known.
Proximity: People are more interested in what happens
in their village, town, country.
Conflict: People gather in a street if and when there is
fight. Conflicts of all kinds are part of life and make good
copy.
Prominence: What happens to important people makes
news.
Government action: The passing of law or other orders
concerning general people cabinet meetings, parliament
and assembly sessions, notifications about new rules
regulations are news worthy.

11. NEWS VALUE
 Accuracy: Accuracy is basic to any news item.
 Balance: If you are writing controversy, give both
sides of story.
 Objectivity: You should not mix your opinion in the
story. Report only fact and other people’s opinions.
 Clarity: Your Introductory sentence should be short
and in active voice. Ideal length of each para may
be 3-4 lines containing one to three sentences to
facilitate easy comprehension.
 Impact: Will it induce some changes somewhere for
the better.

12. KINDS OF HEADLINES
 Banner head
 Crossline head
 Flush left head
 Side heads/ Flush right head
 Kicker (eyebrow)

13. BANNER HEAD
 Banner headlines are attention grabbers. They set
the tone, and are used sparingly.
 The banner head is set the full-page width at the
top of a news page to draw attention to the lead
story of that particular page.

14. CROSSLINE HEAD
 It does not always span the full width of the page,
but does cover all the columns of the story to
which it pertains.

15. FLUSH LEFT HEAD
 The flush left head is a two- or three-line head
with each line set flush left.
 The lines do not have to be equal in width or set
full.

16. FEATURE HEADLINES
 Usually three words or more in length but do not
have a subject or verb.
Dollars for Scholars (article on scholarships)
Cafeteria Blues (article on rule changes in cafeteria)

17.  Hanging Indention: has at least three lines,
second and third line indented.
Teachers Need
Bigger Increase
In Wage Package

18. CROSS LINE:
 a single line of type filling the column or space.
Example: (notice width)
Wage increase breeds discontent

19. INVERTED PYRAMID
 The first line fills in the entire column, then uses
less space as it gets to the bottom.
Example: Two Spanish classes
to host festivals
for community
in evenings

20. CENTERED HEADLINE
 this type of headline is centered above the column.

21. KICKER
 Kicker, also known as a tag line, is a line that
introduces the headline, can be underlined for
emphasis.
Example: Cold weather hits…
Temperature drops
below freezing

22. HAMMER HEAD:
Opposite of kicker.
Example: Drowning in “Purple Rain”
Storm delays Prince’s concert at Arena

23. SIDESADDLE HEADS:
 Places the head to the left of the story, rather
than above.
Example: Turkey Day: Pioneers regain Bell

24. RULES FOR WRITING SENTENCE HEADLINES:
 Strive to make each one an attention grabber.
 Make sure each head fills the space allotted.
 Avoid repetition of words or phrases.
 Use single rather than double quotation marks.
 Avoid using a semicolon in a one line head.
Example: Principal makes presentation;
discusses attendance policy
 Avoid beginning headline with a verb.

25. RULES FOR WRITING SENTENCE HEADLINES
CONT.
 Use only well known abbreviations. (YMCA, NBA,
NFL)
 Don’t begin headline with a number (spell out)
 Use information from your lead when writing a
headline for a feature story.
 Use active voice.
 Use full names unless the person is well known.

26. DECK:
 a second headline under the first, smaller in size.
Example: Pioneers down Lancers, 3-0,
in muddy, defensive battle
before standing-room crowd
Win Clinches district berth

27. Thanks