The headline trifecta

As a former newspaper editor, I can appreciate a great headline, drop head and cutline (you'd call it a caption). The business section of the Dallas Morning News received praise for a story that hit the jackpot in all three categories.

The story is about a business that sells shoes called Heelys; apparently, the shoes have their own wheels, so you can skate at any time. According to the cutline, business peaked in 2006 and has declined since. The last sentence of the cutline says, "This year is called pivotal for the company to dust itself off and get rolling again." Perfect.

The main headline is this: "Is it all downhill for Heelys?" Again, perfect. And the drop head is "Shoemaker cobbling plans to regain traction." A third bit of perfection.

I doubt that I've seen a headline, drop head and cutline more suited to a story.

Thanks to Andy Bechtel of the University of North Carolina journalism department for pointing this out.

CONTACT: You can reach me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

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