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Headline Hall of Fame

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by gordon edes, Oct 24, 2009.

  1. bwright

    bwright Member

    Those are fantastic.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  2. Ct sports boy

    Ct sports boy New Member

    One of my favorites happened in Rhode Island when I was living there. The sports editor of a small paper, after several days of rain wiped out high school sports, wrote a feature about the local school's girls track team. He ran a six-column team photo with the following banner headline: "Lady Wizards are hot"
     
  3. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    Someone got fired for that chick headline, right?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  4. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Blue font?

    Her name is Chick. Why would the headline writer get fired?
     
  5. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    Sorry--missed that her name was Chick. Thought it was a purposeful attempt at humor gone wrong.
     
  6. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    No biggie. I went to see if her name was Chick just for that reason.
     
  7. Appgrad05

    Appgrad05 Active Member

    One night, on deadline, I hurriedly put together a NHL roundup, read the lede on the Capitals gamer and put in my headline: "Semin slips one in."
    Luckily, the other desk guy caught it.
     
  8. hankschu

    hankschu Member

    Famous story from the Oakland Tribune when it was an afternoon paper. Longtime Cal football coach Nibs Price died on a Saturday morning. The desk had minutes to slap together a quick story. One guy got a photo, one guy wrote the hed, another the obit. None knew what the other was doing, so in the paper that day there was a photo of the coach on the phone under the headline, "Death Calls Nibs Price."

    NIBS, NO, DON'T ANSWER IT!!!
     
  9. nietsroob17

    nietsroob17 Well-Known Member

    I still stand my favorite from an AJC 1A refer: "Man behind Hooters dies at 69"
     
  10. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    I know that story. Know it well. Know the prep/copy editor, too.
    Not only was Price on the phone, his feet were on the desk.
     
  11. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    I first heard that one 25 years ago, cracked me up then, cracks me up now. It rates high in my personal newspaper reminiscence file.

    Here's another high on my list.

    Pasadena SE covers a Dodgers-Expos game on a Sunday afternoon. He has dinner plans and tells the desk to leave him an 18-inch hole across the top of the cover, finish up everything else and they can go. He will come in late and take care of the story and headline, etc.
    In the game, there's a fight. Benches clear. Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams are jawing at each other near the plate.
    Afterward, the writers ask Lasorda if he and Williams ever fought when they were players in the minors. Lasorda said that in 1952 he kicked Williams' butt in a fight and he could do it again now.
    So Pasadena goes to press with the banner headline:

    LASORDA: I COULD LICK DICK IN '52 AND I STILL CAN
     
  12. WolvEagle

    WolvEagle Well-Known Member

    Marines up
    local nurse


    A paper I worked for actually ran that one (before I got there).
     
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