Paula-Anne Porturbed: Getting A Head in line.... (get it? Headline? Oh come on)

The next two parts of my assignment in Journalism 2.0 are addressed in this post.

Sign up for breaking news alerts from 3 news outlets (CNN, MSNBC, etc., or local)
Find 5 great web headlines (on news stories or blog entries) and 5 headlines that don't work. Post to your blog, describing what makes the good ones work and why the others don't.

Well, the news alerts have been added to the blog, you can see them over to the right of the page. The web headlines that I think work are as follows;

Grammy-Winning Tejano Singer Navaira Hurt in Bus Crash

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340773,00.html

Who is hurt, whats their claim to fame, and what happened? All answered in the one line.

Mars Probe Finds Evidence of Salt, Supporting Water-Life Theory

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340468,00.html

what was found, where, and what are the implications - all answered.

Confessed killer: Hiker fought to the end

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-23-hikers-last-days_N.htm?csp=34

Whats in a killers mind - am I alone in being curious about this? Also this seems to be an interesting story - what happened to the hiker?

Haiti’s Poverty Stirs Nostalgia for Old Ghosts

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/world/americas/23haiti.html?_r=1&ex=1364011200&en=d396a5dc1051ac90&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

For me this headline stimulates interest and a desire to read further. What is meant by old ghosts? Curiosity alone had me clicking the link.

Virtual Sex Toys Real Florida Lawsuit

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/scitech/~3/255725195/0,2933,340469,00.html

Controversial topic, but interesting use of the contrasts between Virtual and Real Life. I think there is something to be said for clever verbage. Some basic questions are also answered -what and where.

The bad ones are as follows:

Pope Prays for Peace on Easter Sunday

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/world/europe/24pope.html?ex=1364011200&en=4900383f7f92b605&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Can we get any more noneventful than this? Doesnt the Pope always pray for peace? Whats new about it this time?

Scoreboard: Sundays second round action

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/scores?refreshRate=30&conf=0

Ok - action in what sport exactly? and where?

NASA "Thrilled" Over Success of Tile Repair Putty Test

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/scitech/~3/255711876/0,2933,340414,00.html

Who cares about a tile repair putty test by NASA? Plumbers on Mars? The content at first glance would seem to be quite trivial.

After breast cancer, a body resculpted

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23392207/