Headlines for Print, Newspapers, Online, Web

The Web opens some doors for creativity in journalism. But it closes others. Take headlines, for example. On a printed page a headline has to be accurate, same as for the Web. But a print headline also has the context of pictures and related stories, so it can use word play to get a point across and entice the reader to stick around. But on the Web, a headline has to be specific to the Who, What, Where, or it may never be discovered by a search engine. It anticipates the synonyms people might use in searching. Spelling matters more than ever because computers look for exact matches and don't match the brain for fuzzy logic. I could say more, but other bloggers have beaten me to it.

My headline on this post doesn't even have a verb, but in print I'd write the following with a deck:

Web needs headlines you can find

In print, they're right under your nose