mario garcia

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Headlines: bigger is betterFor some reason, headlines have become smaller in many newspa-

pers. Yet readers like headlines that are bigger, especially on inside

pages. Every newspaper should have a set of guidelines for the

range of sizes of the lead headline. This in turn, determines the

proportional size of all other headlines on the page.

For instance, say a broadsheet newspaper carries, ordinarily, a 48-

point headline for its most important story (and that may be small,

since 54 points or bigger carries more impact). Then the next impor-

tant story on the page should have a 42-point headline, and so on.

What we see these days is a lead headline in 36 points atop a page,

with the rest of the headlines “whispering” their content.

Readers are helped when a page instantly conveys the hierarchy of

stories based on headline size. To do less is not to serve your readers

well.

pure design

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Read all about it: El Tiempo in Bogotadepends on street sales. But that’sjust one reason its editors use largeheadlines. Just as important, theheadline volume matches the volumeof the content.