Pulling into the station - toot toot

Since starting this blog I read that they should be informative but not too long so that the reader is not lost (The same applies to print media). Anyway, in order to not have a blog that went on forever I cut the previous blog and continued in a fresh blog.

My five not so great headlines are:

*1 “Gangs, criminality and misdevelopment”
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161297381

This says absolutely nothing to me. What about gangs, criminality and misdevelopment? Are gangs a product of misdevelopment? It just seems like the person who wrote the headline picked three key words and said “presto!” Also, is there a word as misdevelopment or is it under development. If there is please educate me.

*2 “‘The nowayrians’ Study shows vagrants getting lazier”
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,75537.html

I would have gone with a shorter headline. Something like “Vagrants getting lazier, study says” or maybe just stop at "Vagrants getting lazier". The use of the “nowayrians” I am sure is meant to grab but for me I was more of a deterrent. It did not flow. That term could have been left for the story.

*3 “Coconut killer”
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20080322T200000-0500_133771_OBS_COCONUT_KILLER_.asp

I did not like this one at all. It is about a disease that is threatening the coconuts in Jamaica. It lacks action. Even if it said Coconut killer rampant or something like that it would be better in my book. A reasonable headline would be “Disease threatens coconut industry.” I am sure others could even improve upon my suggestion but “Coconut killer” does nothing for me. What about the coconut killer?

*4 Beach limers do it on sand
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161297447

This headline has nothing to do with the story. It is very suggestive as well. When I read the headline I thought it meant persons were having sex on the beach. The story is about beach goers ignoring warnings to stay away from the beaches because of choppy waters. The headline, in my estimation, while it is short and catchy suggests a total other thing from what the article is about. It is in poor taste.

*5 Class Axe
http://www.nationnews.com/story/309862660017350.php

Like the others before it this headline just does not say enough. The axe is a good strong image but a better headline would have been "Classes axed at Drakes Christian School".