News headlines are the short statements at the top of a newspaper article that frame what is to follow. They are important for a number of reasons, including story summarization, interest generation, and immediacy satisfaction. The news headline can also help orient readers, direct their attention toward certain facts over others, and influence how they remember information. In addition, they may be the first thing a reader sees when scrolling through search results or social media feeds.
Whether the story is about global warming, presidential elections, or celebrity scandals, headlines are a key factor in how people decide to read it. In digital contexts, where headlines often stand alone on a website or are the only thing that is posted on social media, headlines can have an even greater impact. Research has shown that negative wording in a headline,1 likeminded ideas,2 use of puns or metaphors,3 and forward references can all increase the likelihood of someone clicking on a story.
While there are a variety of different types of headlines, the best ones usually provide only the most important details and use concise language. It is important to keep in mind that a headline is not the full story and that it should encourage readers to read the body copy. In addition, it is important to consider the audience and what type of news they are interested in when constructing a headline.
A good place to start is the AP Stylebook, which is updated yearly and provides some guidelines for writing headlines. This includes capitalizing the first word of a headline, spelling out words like articles and proper nouns, and dropping unnecessary verbiage.