2011 Texas Better Newspaper Contest - Headline Writing

Division 2
Dailies 7,000 to 99,999
1. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Aww, Shucks; Lock and Load; Lost in Translation: All were excellent. There’s a touch of sophistication to all.
2. The Facts, Clute, The Rickey-Lake Show; Que Through Five; Wildcats meet their better half: No comments.
3. The Kerrville Daily Times, Water Logged; Tiger Tamers; Stronger than Steele: Great! A real attention-grabber.
4. Victoria Advocate, Cello Goodbye; Lord in the ring; You’re fired, you’re hired: No comments.

Division 3
Dailies Less Than 7,000
1. Taylor Daily Press, ‘Water’ you in for?; Why the Y?; Cemetery changes grave concern: No comments.
2. Waxahachie Daily Light, Joint effort: Great banner. Long way to jail: No comment. Not-cho cash: Funny!
3. Athens Daily Review, Gettin’ ready to ‘dance’: Nice cowboy vernacular. Decorators do it for fall: Great. A perfect bit of tongue in cheek. McKee does it again - like MADD: Nice, striking pun.
4. Plainview Daily Herald, Leaks limit PHS flushes: Concise and accurate. Ex-editor takes college beat: Accurate. Grant carries strings that bind like chains: Nice!

Division 4
Semiweeklies 4,001 or More
1. The Williamson County Sun, Georgetown, D’oh! GOP says $5 million donut buy was a typo: Headline had me laughing. A doctor is in the House: Nice work capturing story. VW full of more than just Fahrvergnügen: Fun headline!
2. Wise County Messenger, Decatur, Belly up: Nice play on words. A new reason to :): Very creative and fun. Shuffle board: No comment.
3. El Campo Leader-News, Hornets score big with new board; Forecast for EC’s mosquitos? Foggy; ‘Coke’ in cooler chills travel plans: No comments.
4. The Highlander, Marble Falls, Supporting a cure; Country musician’s popularity is second to Nunn; Bird is the word: Clever “Supporting a cure” head!

Division 5
Semiweeklies 4,000 or Less
1. Breckenridge American, Blizzards freeze Bucks in final minutes; Sweetwater gives Bucks a 36-33 bitter taste; Munday was trouble on Tuesday: Headlines sum up the sports stories nicely. The play on words works.
2. The Terrell Tribune, Claus for celebration; It all adds up; Heart of the matter: Headlines are a clever play on words and tell the story. Nice work!
3. Kilgore News Herald, Double-O Santa: Fun story and good headline. No transportation without representation: Accurate, but fun. Poultry love: No comment.
4. Lampasas Dispatch Record, Losing grip: Tells the story and goes with the pic. Nice work! Birdwatchers’ hobby more than a lark; Boater arrested: No comments.

Division 6
Large Weeklies
1. The Azle News, Flood stings fling: Short and sweet. Central Park gardener moving on to new digs: Clever. McFlattened: No comment.
2. Fort Worth Business Press, A Streetcar Undesired: Clever and fun. Teamwork: Tells the story. Bugging out: Short and sweet.
3. Port Aransas South Jetty, What’s up? Dock.; Ooh, la, la? Oh, no, no!; Yippee-yi-yo-coyote: Fun to read aloud. Subheads help tell the story.
4. Park Cities People, Dallas, Pharmacy Drops Scripts, Keeps Sips; Meet Park Cities’ Most Arrested Man; Fourth Festivities on Fifth Were First-Rate: Pharmacy headline fun and clever.

Division 7
Medium-Large Weeklies
1. The Sealy News, Stamping out Hunger; SISD trustees taxed over TAKS; Hair today, gone tomorrow: Heads do well to help the story.
2. Westlake Picayune, Austin, Lewis & Spark; Dog-gone good gig; Private, aye: Heads are fun and creative. Like the short and simple.
3. The Cameron Herald, Frozen dreams; It’s not easy being green; Tuck it: “Frozen dreams” sum it up nicely.
4. The Big Bend Sentinel, Marfa, The ballad of 100.1; Parents can’t stomach MISD’s closed campus lunch policy; One enchildada shy of a combination plate: All are well throughout.

Division 8
Medium Weeklies
1. Pilot Point Post-Signal, A cut above; Oil’s not well; He’s going to dog it in retirement: Clever and creative. Nice work.
2. The Springtown Epigraph, 127 Hours is a different sort of cliffhanger: Like the play on words with “cliffhanger”. Water plant on tap: Tells the story. The Road Now Taken: No comment.
3. Refugio County Press, Getting the kinks out; Bobcats boot-scoot Buckaroos with blistering speed; Fields of streams: No comments.
4. Iowa Park Leader, Arno’s nose knows: Fun and goes well with the story. A team to ponder: Nice play on words. All heads are short and sweet. Hale to Austin: No comment.

Division 9
Small-Medium Weeklies
1. The Princeton Herald, Course language leads to reprimand: Love double meaning. Really made me want to ready the story. The lease they can do: Clever play on words. Subhead to clarify lease would be helpful. On your mud, get set, GO!: Made me wish I was there.
2. The Farmersville Times, Show and tails: Cute use of “Show and tell”. Many meanings to headline. Subhead clarifies story. We’ve got friends in Lowe’s places: Great play on Lowe’s and friends helping friends. Gets the point across easily. A Christmas to Remember: Love the subhead. Really drives home feeling of event, holidays.
3. Muleshoe Journal, Cake ace tries cooking with gunpowder: Wish I could hav emet Duff! Clever play on baking powder. Mules unable to bread down Wall: Provides good mental image of a physical challenge while expressing results of the game. Should students be on grass?: Clever double meaning. Draws readers in.
4. The Waller County News Citizen, Hempstead, Fair weather brings fair success: A little bland but expresses point of the story. Weekend Civil Warriors: Nice play on “Weekend Warriors”. Quickly gets across topic of page. Panthers have a prayer with Bible at the plate: Very clever. Gets point across.

Division 10
Small Weeklies
1. Friendswood Journal, Drought Ends Reign: Sort of poetic. Overly Lionized: Works on a couple levels. Guarding Tess: Cute movie reference.
2. Murphy Monitor, Mom and Pop stores move home: Nice, somewhat poignant. Aviary Park off to flying start, but some feathers still ruffled: Makes me want to ready story. Cornucopia of contests highlights Maize Days events: Speaks for itself. I’m a sucker for corny headlines.
3. Keene Star, Residents want to grow the economy:  A phrase I normally hate. Fund may assist residents soaked with water bill: Clever, will probably appeal to reader. Fun times no more: Clever, nice impact.
4. The Lindsay Letter, Classic Freeze Out: Descriptive of shooting and weather. Pulling from the past: Nice acknowledgment of historic tractors. Money - it’s a class: Can’t go wrong with a song reference, also descriptive.