The American Copy Editors Society doled out awards for best headlines of the year Thursday, highlighting what peers deemed exemplars of “the quality of copy editing amid dwindling resources, tighter deadlines and more work.”
In the spirit of copyediting greatness, this week’s One for Fun is a headline contest.
April 15 Update: In the spirit of Tax Day (in the U.S.) the entry deadline has been extended to April 18.
The rules:
- Entries must be posted in comments by
April 16 April 18, 9 p.m. Pacific Time.
- Write one headline per story. (Hit Ricochet with your best shot.)
- Entries with fewer (or more) than three headlines will be disqualified.
- Headlines must make sense on their own — no relying on a dek/drophed/subhed for additional context. If you’re having trouble visualizing why, look at this.
- Headlines must be no more than 60 characters long. (Use this to check your character count.)
- The usual standards of news-appropriate language apply. No obscenities.
- One entry per person.
The instructions:
- Post your entry in comments and include your email. I need a way to contact you if you win.
- Use the format:
1. (headline)
2. (headline)
3. (headline)
The judging: Entries will be evaluated on appropriateness, understandability, keywordiness and clickability (interesting beats boring). Additional details on how judging will be conducted TBA.
The prize: A $25 gift certificate for Threadless, ’cause who doesn’t want a really cool T-shirt?
The stories:
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Several conservative groups, including the American Family Association, are asking Marriott International Inc. to stop giving hotel guests the option of ordering pay-per-view movies with strong sexual content. (full text)
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Six Maasai warriors in London for Sunday’s marathon saw the city from 450 feet yesterday and could not resist the chance to show their appreciation with a song. (full text)
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If you have recently seen a petite woman, 162 centimetres tall and 50 kilograms, trying to pile on the pounds by pulling a makeshift sled of tyres across the soft sands of Sydney’s beaches, you have probably met Flip Byrnes, great-granddaughter of Frank Hurley, the legendary Antarctic photographer. (full text)
Good luck to all entrants!