The headline
Two types
There are two types of headlines. Most news stories in the Bangkok Post use sentence headlines although they may be shortened by omitting certain words as you will see later. Many feature stories and some very short news stories use phrase headlines or titles which leave out the verb. Here are some examples of both:
| Sentence headlines | Police rescue 12
divers as launch sinks off Phi Phi |
|---|---|
| Phrase headlines | Getting in touch
with the spirits |
The grammar of sentence headlines
Almost all sentence headlines in the Bangkok Post use the present tense—despite the fact that they generally describe past events. The present tense gives the subject a sense of freshness and immediacy, making it more interesting to read.Headlines pack a great deal of information into a limited space,
so it is not surprising that Bangkok Post headline writers
use several methods to conserve space. One obvious example is to
use abbreviations (“PM” for “Prime Minister”, etc.). But
they also use a special grammar, omitting articles (“a” and “the”)
and the verb “to be” wherever possible.
Cooperation agreement
signed Australian ex-judge sworn in
to represent UK queen |
Be sure to notice that the omission of the verb “to be” can make the headline appear to be in the past tense when it is actually present tense, passive voice.
Headline vocabulary
Another way to conserve space in headlines is to use short
words instead of long ones. In the example below notice the various
ways the headline writer can shorten the headline “MP criticises
dishonest election plan”.
The Bangkok Post uses about one hundred easily-learned short words in its news headlines. Here are a few of the most common.
| probe | investigate, investigation |
|---|---|
| graft | corruption |
| bid | attempt, offer |
| row | quarrel or disagreement |
The opening paragraph of the news story is known as the lead. It, too, has a distinctive style. Click for a detailed look at The lead.
