Scott Underwood
Newspapers often employ clever or direct wordplay in headlines to encourage people to read the article that follows.
Here are a few examples from recent editions of The Herald Bulletin:
• Down by the river (with an article about a woman’s concerns about contamination near White River)
• Surprise announcement (article about Anderson Community Schools announcing it had selected a new superintendent)
• Unexpected inspiration (article about a man with an amputated leg who regained his confidence with the help of a stranger)
• A different path (article about the impact of the pandemic on working women)
Such headlines, which are followed by a subhead that explains more directly what the story is about, can effectively pull readers in by drawing a connection to a familiar turn of words.