Andrew Kantor's Place: One thing I wish everyone knew

One thing I wish everyone knew

Published 1/16/07

Well, there are a lot of things. But at this moment I’ll point out one.

Reporters do not write headlines. Neither do their editors, usually.

Headlines are written after the reporter and editor are done, by someone at the copy desk — the person who is correcting any style errors and worrying about libelous statements.

I mention this because I found this blog post that suggests otherwise. For example, I didn’t write the one attributed to me. Nor, I’ll wager, did Phyllis Furman of the New York Daily News, Jim Rossman of the Dallas Morning News, Ellen Lee of the San Francisco Chronicle… you get the idea.

Sometimes there are incredible heds I wish I had written. Sometimes there are awful ones that make me want to throttle a copy editor. Either way, reporters can’t take the credit or the blame.

The Fray

5 responses (add yours)

Jared says:

Thanks for the clarification, Andrew – So I’m unclear, what’s the job title for that individual who’s writing the headlines? Copy Editor?

January 16th, 2007 at 2:54 PM

gnomic says:

If you aren’t writing it, why is your name on it?

I think you can understand why people get this wrong. A bigger question is why reporters don’t rise up and stab copy desk editors with their fountain pens? (or the current equivalent?)

January 16th, 2007 at 11:47 PM