Chapter 1
The building blocks of satirical humor
Chapter 2
Global traditions of mocking power
Chapter 3
Finding the comedic angle in daily headlines
Chapter 4
Crafting the perfect satirical headline
Chapter 5
Satire versus disinformation in the digital age
YOUR GOAL
Master of Writing news satire
Ch 4 · Crafting the perfect satirical headline
sisterdharma Satirical Headlines
Pitch a thousand jokes and burn them to the ground, Until that one perfect headline is finally found.
sisterdharma Great satirical headlines are incredibly concise, usually keeping under 15 words.
sisterdharma Subversion flips reader expectations by setting up a familiar news cliche with a surprise twist.
BETA
sisterdharma Match daily news stories with witty punchlines to learn how to write hilarious political satire.
Fun Fact
Headline power: Up to 80% of readers of satirical news sites only read the headline on social media, never clicking to read the full article.
Glossary
headline (noun)
A headline is a line of text serving as the title of a newspaper story. In 1996, The Onion digitized its format, pioneering the comedic art of the brief, satirical title.
A headline is a line of text serving as the title of a newspaper story. In 1996, The Onion digitized its format, pioneering the comedic art of the brief, satirical title.
Quiz
What is the term for a headline that sets up a highly familiar news cliché and then suddenly reverses the expectation?
Quiz
What is the term for the specific, funny core idea that serves as the foundation for a satirical headline?
Quiz
Which famous satirical website, founded in 1988 in Madison, Wisconsin, popularized the modern deadpan headline format?
Quiz
If a satirical headline is completely successful, what should it be able to do without any supporting body text?
Quiz
Which Australian satirical news site, founded in 2014, is famous for mocking local politics using the fictional town of Betoota?
Quiz
Why do satirical headlines use formal AP-style capitalization and punctuation?
Quiz
What grammatical voice is most commonly used in news headlines to make them sound urgent and authoritative?
Quiz
According to comedic writing standards, what is the ideal maximum word count for a punchy satirical headline?