The copy reader’s ingenuity is often put to the test when it becomes necessary to use synonyms in the head to avoid repetition. He should be on his guard against using interchangeably words of similar meaning. To call a modern hotel an inn or a woman a “member of the weaker sex” verges on the ridiculous. A cat is a cat or an animal, never a “feline.”
Heads are usually written in the present tense unless they relate to a future event. (See Figure 3.) This is the historical present, used instead of the past tense for the sake of greater vividness. “Defies His Accusers” drives home the recency of the occurrence. The reader feels that he is getting something new. “President Speaks at Albany” means that the President has just spoken, either on the day of publication or the previous day. It is news--the latest thing the President has done that is of public interest. It must not be inferred from this that the past tense is barred from the head. On the contrary there are occasions when it would be absurd to use anything else. The copy reader would write, “William Smith Dies” or “William Smith is Dead,” but in giving details of the dead man’s life it would be manifestly foolish to say, “Is Born in Missouri,” “Is a Civil War Veteran.” While the copy reader must observe the style of the paper that employs him, he is not expected to apply any rule slavishly in defiance of common sense.
Tenants of Apartment-House Are Driven to Street in Night Attire.
Youths Finally Slide to Ground on Rain Pipe--Fire Loss Is $25,000.
Figure 3.--Four-deck head from the Chicago _Record-Herald_; a well-balanced, typographically neat head built according to a general plan followed by many newspapers.]
The Kansas City _Star_ and _Times_, recognized as one of the most carefully edited newspapers, affords a striking exception to the general practice of putting the head in the present tense and omitting the articles. The _Star_ prefers the past tense when it can be properly used and encourages sentences with all the articles supplied. For example: “A Tennessee Wreck Hurt 21--Two Coaches Were Burned, but Sixty Persons Escaped.” Most newspapers would have said: “Tennessee Wreck Hurts 21--Two Coaches Are Burned (or Burn), but Sixty Persons Escape.” Without arguing the relative merits of the two types of heads, it is worth noting that the _Star’s_ departure from custom in this and other respects has given it a distinct individuality that no reader can overlook. (See Figure 4.)