Bat Boy: The Musical

Activity: The Art of Writing a Headline

A Headline is a heading at the top of an article or page in a newspaper or magazine. It indicates to the reader what the article or story will be about. Have you ever seen a thumbnail you just had to click? This is a practice known as clickbait; clickbait is written and visual content specifically used to intrigue viewers to click the link. Often, the headlines and images exaggerate the story, and can even include false claims.

The story of Bat Boy and the Weekly World News is one example of powerful imagery and exaggerated language that encourages viewers to learn more. In fact, Weekly World News is a tabloid: an outlet famous for publishing highly sensationalized stories. The tale of Bat Boy was designed to  entice viewers and keep them on their toes!

bat-boy-cover.webpBefore we explore headlines and sensationalized journalism, examine one of the Weekly World News Covers and ask the following:

  • What do you notice in imagery and phrasing?
  • What words stand out to you?
  • How does it make you feel?
  • What do you think made the story of Bat Boy so exciting and engaging?

In this activity, we’ll explore the art of creating a headline before exaggerating and sensationalizing the story for clickbait.

CREATE YOUR OWN HEADLINE

Think of a story or an event from your own life that you’d like to report on, and create a few different Headlines based on that experience.

Focus the sentence on: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Keep it factual. Check out these 9 tips to writing strong headlines.

Option One:

Option Two:

Option Three:

Now exaggerate a headline to make it clickbait! 

Ask yourself: What do you want people to think? What do you want people to do? What do you want people to feel?

 

Reflect: Are there examples in current media (online articles, social media, news) where you experience sensationalized story telling?

Take it further!

  • Create a tableau, or perform the exaggerated version of your story.
  • Sketch out or design your front cover of the weekly world news with this story.