Headlines ever more important

That headlines are important to news selection by readers is a long-standing fact in communication science and media studies and has led scholars to compile lists of "How to write a good headline" (for example that of Merlin Mann, Associate Professor of Journalism). That this is of even more importance in an RSS world is an interesting point raised by Cliff Vaughn, the Culture Editor for EthicsDaily.com. On CyberJournalist.net he is stressing the importance of headlines for bloggers using RSS feeds: "Isn’t there a significant difference between being on a page where, if the headline doesn’t tell you what you need, you can see the posting and really decide VERSUS just getting the headline in your feed, which may not really tell you much of anything. ... It seems that bloggers who syndicate their content should really give serious thought to what they call the entry." This is true for any news media employing RSS as well.

Sources: CyberJournalist.net, www.notrain-nogain.org