Headlines

Bad: MIT professor hits back at $100 laptop critics
I understand what the article headline is saying: the professor is refutting what critics are saying about distributing laptops for $100 to children around the world. But when I read this headline, the first thing that comes to mind is someone physically hitting someone. I think that "hits" can be replaced by a much better word that does not have a fighting spirit-type meaning around it, like "refutes."

Good: Terps, Duke Ready for 1-2 Punch
I really liked this headline for its creativity on washingtonpost.com's homepage. Unfortunately, a different headline was used when I clicked on the story, so I didn't hyperlink to the story. But I like how it's a play on words, or numbers, really. Obviously, tonight the two teams are battling it out for the title. But it's cool that the headline incorporated their standings with Duke #1 seed and Maryland #2. All of that in a concise, short headline. So I think that this headline really captured the essence of the game: a battle between the top teams. If a reader doesn't really understand the headline, the lead immediately mentioned what each team's rankings were. Read the article here.