DECKS Make  each  deck  (not  necessarily  each  line)  a complete  construction.  Write  the  headline  so  it  will stand alone and make sense, especially when you use it as the main deck. Consider the following example: Poor: Decade of off-duty study cams degree at Memphis Better: Memphis chief earns law degree after decade of off-duty study Because  headlines  are  restricted  to  a  small  space, copy  editors  generally  limit  headlines  to  one  specific idea   expressed   forcefully,   rather   than   several   ideas expressed vaguely. If space permits, editors sometimes connect two independent thoughts by a semicolon in a headline  —  or  add  another  section  to  the  headline  (a second  deck)  —  to  include  additional  important  aspects of the story. If a story involves a plane crash that kills one crew member, injure the pilot and disrupts a training exercise, you should limit the main deck to the death. Subordinate headlines, or the story, should cover the other news. BE  SPECIFIC As  with  all  forms  of  newswriting,  the  use  of specifics is better than generalities. Note the following headline: Auto crash proves fatal This  headline  does  not  contain  nearly  as  much information as the headline that follows: 2 die as car smacks tree BE POSITIVE Another  custom  most  headline  writers  observe  is phrasing headlines in a positive, rather than in a negative manner. This is based on the principle that a newspaper is supposed to tell readers what  did happen,  not  what did not happen. When  writing  about  a  family  that  escapes  injury when their car overturns and bums on a highway, a novice headline writer would probably write the following: No one hurt in car fire Given   the   same   story,   a   good   headline   writer composes the following headline: Family escapes flaming death OPINIONS Headlines  on  stories  dealing  with  opinion  should show the source of that opinion. If a story is attributed to a secondhand source, this should be reflected in the headline. Consider the following examples: ’Courts  too  lenient’ claims parish priest NFL players unhappy with owners’ offer says arbitrator REPEATS You  should  avoid  repeating  words  in  the  same headline deck. Also, watch out for similar phraseology in  adjacent  heads  and  decks.  Consider  the  following example: Former Abraham Lincoln journalist returns to Abraham Lincoln as public affairs officer THE   FIVE   Ws A good headline generally has the who and the what of  the  story  in  the  first  line,  with  the  following  lines explaining the how and why, if necessary. People expect newspaper stories to concern events that   have   occurred   since   the   previous   edition   was published. Therefore, the when can usually be omitted. If an event is yet to happen, however, warn the reader by the inclusion of the when through the use of the future tense or a specific day or date. The where in a headline on a local story is generally omitted. Readers expect their newspapers to print local stories  and  will  assume  a  story  is  local  unless  the dateline or headline specifies otherwise. SHORT SYNONYMS Use short, vigorous words. Headline writers usually have a vocabulary all their own. They learn to think in terms of short synonyms for longer expressions when writing  headlines.  Many  copy-editing  texts  contain  lists of short synonyms for headline use. Note the following examples: l Named for  appointed  or  elected l Set for  arrange  or  schedule 9 - 8