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Journalism & Media vocabulary · Headlines and News Language

Headline

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

/ˈhedlaɪn/nounCore term

In journalism & media, headline means: The title printed above a news story in large letters, or written at the top of an online article, that tells readers quickly what the story is about.

In Turkish: başlık, manşet

How it is used

Sub-editors write headlines, and a story that gets a lot of attention makes or grabs the headlines. On radio and TV, the headlines are the short summary of main stories at the start of a bulletin. Headlines use their own compressed grammar.

Example sentences

  1. The headline was too long for the mobile page, so we cut it to eight words.

  2. The bridge collapse made headlines across the country.

Common collocations

  • write a headline
  • make the headlines
  • front-page headline
  • misleading headline
  • the main headlines
  • front pageThe first page of a newspaper, where the most important stories and pictures of the day appear; also the home page of a news website.
  • standfirstA short introductory sentence or paragraph between a headline and the article, usually in bold or larger type, that summarises the story.
  • clickbaitOnline headlines or content designed mainly to make people click, often by exaggerating, hiding the key fact or promising more than the story gives.
  • captionA short piece of text under or next to a photo, chart or video that explains what it shows, who is in it and sometimes who took it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Headlines and News Language

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