I have an easy question about the contents page. I seem to remember in JO 101 or 102, that the contents page should reflect your article pretty closely — that the headline and deck should be word for word what is seen on the article. I work on two magazines, one where we do just that, and one where we write new headlines and decks for the contents page. I feel like it's not only confusing to the reader, it's time-consuming for the editor to come up with two, sometimes three (cover) headlines for the same article. Any thoughts, rules of thumb?

Hello Mary,

You are right. The titles of articles on the contents page should match the title on the articles themselves. No question about it. The same is true for the cover, except on the cover your space is usually limited so you might have to alter a word or two or make the cover line tighter. Bottom line is as you suggest. It should be easy for the readers to find the articles to read without having to scratch their heads and wonder.

Another altrernative is to put the page number of the article on the cover next to the appropriate cover line. This never makes the readers angry. It's a convenience for them because they can go to the story immediately if they have that interest.

Some editors think writing headlines that are cute or have puns is creative journalism. But not everyone gets the cuteness or the pun. These editors think confusing readers is good journalism. That's what I call editorial arrogance.

Headlines shoujld answer the question "what's in it for me (the reader)" as quickly and understandably as possible. Who has time these days to sit and wonder?