One of the most difficult jobs an editor has is coming up with a pithy, accurate, clickable headline for a piece. Choosing the right words could make the difference between whether a reader even gives an article a chance, so there’s a lot of weight to it. We don’t want to give the whole story away in the headline, but also want to give enough specific information so readers know what they’re getting into.
With the international pieces I edit, adding the country name into the headline takes up precious real estate and could cause readers to tune out if they’re not interested in that country. We want to play up the relatable while also making clear what part of the world we’re covering.
Some CT editors have the gift of wordplay, one I’ve long envied. In 2024, CT won a headline contest by ACES, a professional association of editors, with headlines like “All About That Tenor: Why Men Don’t Sing in Worship,” “Honey, We Shrunk the Family,” and “Close Encounters of the Elite Institutional Kind.” One of my favorite headlines that an editor (thanks, Jeremy Weber!) came up with for me: “The Word Made Fresh: Taglish Bible Translation Brings Streets of Manila into Church.”
Angela Lu Fulton is CT’s international editor.
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