Quote

Headline writing is tough because often times you are given a predetermined number of spaces and words depending on the layout and the type of the story.

Writing headlines is a specialty - there are outstanding writers who will tell you they couldn't write a headline to save their lives.

If you only have one shot at writing a headline, there's a lot of pressure.

People often think that reporters write their own headlines. In fact, they almost never do. The people who do write headlines are the copy editors who are the front and last lines of quality-checking in a newspaper before it goes to print.

I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for art.

Art is not journalism. In art, you don't make it to convey a message.

The headline is the most important element of an ad. It must offer a promise to the reader of a believable benefit. And it must be phrased in a way to give it memory value.

Headlines are so great in a sense that they can take a little bit from an article completely out of context and blow it into something it's not. Some people really only read headlines.

The newspaper is, in fact, very bad for one's prose style. That's why I gravitated towards feature stories where you get a little more leeway in the writing style.

Far more thought and care go into the composition of any prominent ad in a newspaper or magazine than go into the writing of their features and editorials.