I love tabloids. These short-style newspapers are made for the masses and can condense a story into poignant headlines. A decade ago honeymooners north of Sydney were attacked by a Great White. He didn’t survive. “The Daily Telegraph” got an exclusive interview. “Shark Bride Tells” was the tear sheet for that edition. (Tear sheets are the small posters outside the news agent.)

What more do you need to know? Oh - “Photos Inside” was below. That helped.

Thanks to “The Economist” for pointing out another great tabloid headline. In their article bemoaning the high profile role Bill Clinton is taking in his wife’s campaign, they note Bill fell asleep in a Harlem church service commemorating the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. “Bill Has a Dream” was the headline - next to a photo of the sleeping ex-president.

Ain’t sparsity grand?

Clients complain about headlines. The messages were well considered - and the media training set the client up for a great interview. Yet while the article is good the headline is contentious. Why didn’t that get fixed?

Journalists generally don’t write their own headlines. They offer their stories with suggested titles but headline writing is the purview of the sub-editor. And for the cover of a tabloid it’s the editor’s job.

Wanna see what it’s like? Take this fictional scenario:

Campaigning in Orlando, Florida presidential hopeful John McCain slips and falls while visiting Disney World - breaking his nose.

Quick! The presses are waiting! What’s the headline for the cover of a salacious, muck-raking tabloid?

Please send along your favourites.