ACES 2009 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

This year’s headline winners

Posted April 30, 2009

Winners of the American Copy Editors Society’s 2008 ACES national headline contest were announced Thursday at the 13th ACES national conference in Minneapolis.

To view the winning entries, click here.

Division I

Newspapers with circulations of more than 250,000. News magazines, news Web sites, news wire services and all news publications other than newspapers. ($500 and an engraved plaque)

Winner: Jim Webster, St. Petersburg Times

Judges’ comments: What lifts a headline to greatness? What raises it above the already demanding criteria of accuracy, clarity, relevance and fit? The question bedevils judges of headline contests. One answer is that a great headline stirs within a reader the unstoppable desire to read the headline again, out loud, with profound admiration, to anyone within earshot. Such a headline is this one:

The people who are watching us
say our paranoia is increasing

A great headline is startlingly apt. It says the accompanying story is not only news, not only special, but in some way amazing. It makes you think. And rethink. In ways that you find satisfying. You feel not only appropriately informed, but highly appreciative of the publication that delivered this headline.

One publication in this country employs the first two-time winner of the ACES headline contest in the big-paper category. The writer of the top entry for 2003 is also the winner for 2008.

(No honorable mention given.)

Division II

Newspapers with circulations between 100,001 and 250,000 ($500 and an engraved plaque)

Winner: Monica Cardenas, Austin American-Statesman

Judges’ comments: Judges liked Cardenas’s package of vivid headlines that brought topics to life. Her headline, “Energy, water the state’s new power couple,” earned praise including this: a vivid way to present a potentially dull topic, and it brought the dynamics to life. Another judge said: It was the best headline of all the entries (in the division).

Honorable mention: Peter Donahue, Providence Journal

Judges’ comments: Donahue earned honorable mention because, as judges put it, the plays on words were not clichés or groaners. His headlines were described as accessible. Newspaper readers didn’t have to read the story to get what the headline meant.

Division III

Newspapers with circulations between 50,001 and 100,000 ($500 and an engraved plaque)

Winner: Michael Roehrman, Wichita Eagle

Judges’ comments: The judges were unanimous in selecting Roehrman. His headlines are creative without being cloying and clever without being too cutesy. Another headline of his offered just enough word play to pique your interest, but never enough to induce a groan. “Heaping whelping” and “Competitive undertaking” were two favorites.

Honorable mention: Tom Wilk, Cherry Hill (N.J.) Courier-Post

Judges’ comments: As for Wilk, we liked his “ ‘C’ you later, Commerce” (the C a play on Commerce Bank’s nickname). The judges like that it plays to something people there would know. “Go slow, save dough; airlines conserve fuel” was another winner.

Division IV

Newspapers with circulations of 50,000 or less ($500 and an engraved plaque)

Winner: Niko Dugan, Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette

Judges’ comments: Niko turned what could have been routine headlines into eye-catching reads and made judges want to read the articles. “If bailout is rocket science, he’s got a good start” and the deck were creative and told the story—exactly what a feature head should do.

(No honorable mention given.)

Division V

Staff entries from publications of any size (engraved plaque for the publication and a framed certificate for each contributor)

Winner: Los Angeles Times Portfolio A (Laura Dominick, Rachel Dunn, Amy Hubbard, Jennifer Karmon, Jim LaVally, Richard Nelson, Jessica Parks, David Shear, Ed Silver, Eldes Tran)

Judges’ comments: For consistently excellent heads in tight counts, heads that drew readers in and made them want to read the story. Their readouts did more than inform; they continued the brightness that made the stories under them appealing.

Honorable mention: Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette (Steve Buttry, Jeana Lewie, Rae Riebe, Scott Wingert)

Judges’ comments: For powerful news headlines on an overwhelming local story that really captured the arc of the coverage. They conveyed the drama of the situation without veering into the maudlin.

Division VI

All student publications ($250 and a framed certificate)

Winner: Audrey Kuo, UCLA Daily Bruin

Judges’ comments: I think Kuo stands heads and shoulders above the rest. Her headlines are clever, engaging and, at times, bring a smile to the reader. Audrey stands out in this field, which I wish had been bigger. Still, she has a talent for good headlines. My favorite is the one on same-sex marriage: “They do, even if the law says they can’t.” Audrey shows a grace and elegance that is the mark of the best headline writers. She doesn’t put an elbow in her reader’s ribs, but she still makes us smile. She shows promise for a bright career.

(No honorable mention given.)

Last updated May 5, 2009

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