1. Headline Variation (12 marks)
“13 Bizarre Mariana Trench Animals That Capture The Terrifying Extremes Of Evolution”
Using the article from Part A, Question #1, you are to create three (3) different headlines. Each headline must emphasize a different headline element discussed in class. (3X4=12 Marks) For each headline:
a) Include the Headline
1: “Top 13 otherworldly deepsea creatures to haunt your dreams”
2: “DAMN nature, YOU SCARY! We made a list showing the top freakiest looking fish in the deep”
3: “Your fears of the ocean might be valid… don’t believe us? Look at our top 13 most terrifying deep sea creatures”
b) Explain your reasoning
1: “Top 13 otherworldly deepsea creatures to haunt your dreams”
I chose to lean really hard into the fear tactic for this one. So rather than terrifying I used words like “otherworldly” and “haunt”. I also decided for this example to keep the number 13. This way my article seems like it's not misleading. I also used otherworldly because of the audience that we are trying to connect with. This audience probably is fascinated with the unknown and space and science.
2: “DAMN nature, YOU SCARY! We made a list showing the top freakiest looking fish in the deep”
I decided to take a more comical approach with my second variation. This headline probably would appeal to more people than the first example just due to the humour involved. If this was a buzzfeed article I would probably include a funny picture of someone looking scared next to a big fish. I used a old internet meme reference to start the headline “damn mother nature, you scary” was a popular phrase people used to comment on posts about nature. Because it was once a phenomenon already I thought this would resonate with more viewers. I also kept my headline simple and said exactly what the article was going to show. A list of the freakiest fish.
3: “Your fears of the ocean might be valid… don’t believe us? Look at our top 13 most terrifying deep sea creatures”
c) Reference specific class concepts For each individual headline I referred back to the 4 U’s that was mentioned in class. I made sure that each headline was unique in its nature, so that when someone searches this headline it will show the original article. I was ultra specific with what the headline was about and who it was trying to talk to. Urgency was mentioned by playing into peoples fears. For example: Maybe the viewer feels like this post needs to be read before a trip to an ocean location. These headlines also were useful and provided the reader with information that was relevant to the article.
Overall, When making a headline my biggest takeaway from class is to understand the posts objective, then the audience.