More online newspaperism

The Guardian examines the dilemma of the headline writer as newspapers "integrate their web and press productions:"

Headline writing, of the clever, punning variety that is their stock in trade, is fast becoming an anachronism. For the role of subeditors is changing as media organisations do as the Sun has done and establish integrated newsrooms; producing papers, website, blogs and broadcasts from one desk.

But there's an underlying false assumption: that newspapers can/should consider the Web to be an "edition" of a "newspaper."

I think newspapers should examine, exploit and even celebrate the unique characteristics of each medium, resulting in products that are complementary rather than competitive with one another.

Certainly print headlines and online headlines have to meet entirely different requirements. We've known that for years. Print is a serendipity medium where puns, clever language and cultural references can work really well. Online is an information-seeker's medium (and that was true long before Google) where a clear and straightforward phrase wins the game.

Print is not dead, and backing down on brilliant print headline-writing would be a terrible mistake.

Thanks to The Editors Weblog for the pointer.

Comments

Mr. Yelvington,
I appreciate your efforts, but Journalism is indeed near death. We no longer need it and many now recognize that Newspapers and related websites are slaves to the advertiser. There are very few mediums left where professionalism is clearly the rule. Publications where pet stories and ad hominem rants are republished from websites to print media filling mindless pages of garbage are clearly suspect.