How to Measure Newspaper Headlines

If you write the headlines for your newspaper or are trying to create one for your most recent article, you must consider the size of the other articles and advertisements in the newspaper. This will tell you how large you can make your headline font and how long the entire headline can be.

• Obtain a rough layout of the newspaper. Although this layout may need to be changed as new articles and advertisements are added, it will give you an idea of how much room you have for a headline. Use a tape measure to measure the space between the other articles that surround yours on the layout to determine how large your headline can be.


• Make you headline large enough to fill the entire space. Depending on the importance and popularity of the article, the editor may be willing to change another article to allow yours to have a larger headline.


• Use the least amount of words in your headline to get your point across. The more words you use, the smaller the headline will appear. Short and significant words will allow the font to be larger and make your headline stand out against the other articles, headlines and ads.


• Change the words around to change the size of the article. Use a thesaurus to help you find words that have similar meanings. Substitute smaller words for larger ones so you can make your headline font larger and allow it to fit in the newspaper. Avoid using uncommon words because this might confuse your readers and make them less likely to read the article.