To see clear, informative, and not just catchy headlines in a newspaper and instantly determine which material should be read first, which should be read over a cup of coffee, and which should be given to a friend to watch - this is the dream of any reader. Alas! Before its implementation is still far away!

Moreover, the headlines intended to serve as pointers to the content of the text often turn out to be simply incomprehensible and therefore empty, although with ringing phrases: "Bumper and his father chose the Girl-2000 "(Vech. Moscow. 1999. December 20). Anyone who still decides to read the article will find that it is dedicated to a show that took place on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. It was on this stage that a boy named Bumper rose, who once tied up an Internet acquaintance with one of the contenders for the title of "Girl-2000". The boy had nothing to do with the election of the main beauty.

"Fashion 2000: Kangaroo jump and bows" (Client. 1999. N 50). Under such a confusing title, the reader is "waiting" for an interview with famous fashion designers on the topic of the most relevant details of next year's clothing.

Some of these titles are "brilliantly" (according to the authors) provided with abbreviations: "The Prime Minister launched an ICBM." The article refers to an intercontinental ballistic missile (referred to in the title briefly, but not clearly), the launch of which was attended-and not directed at all-by the head of the Russian government (Nezavisimoe Obozrenie. 1999. N 49). " The EBRD has admitted that it has ruined Russia." We are talking about the report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for 10 years (Novaya Gazeta. 1999. December 20-26). "The Ministry of Finance paid off the CSFB". Under this heading is an article about Credit Suisse First

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Boston, in the interests of which the first auction of short-term government obligations was organized (Kommersant. 1999. December 18).

Materials with such headlines will be read only by three categories of readers: a narrow circle dedicated to the meaning of the abbreviation; extremely inquisitive readers who are intrigued by incomprehensible words; and finally, readers who fundamentally read each issue "from cover to cover". As you might guess, all the listed readership groups are not numerous. Others will simply ignore the material placed under an incomprehensible title.

Readers are rightly annoyed by foreign words that are introduced into the title for no particular reason and are not clear to everyone. So, under the heading " Same ne mange pas sis zhur "(Vech. Moscow. 1999. December 18), a publication begins on the topic of personal property of people's deputies, as it is covered by television. The title, which probably won't be understood by everyone, wasn't explained in the text. Under the heading "Camel Trophy in Russian" there is an article that mentions, in particular, a camel ride. However, if the meaning of the word "camel "is familiar to a wide readership, then the meaning of the phrase" camel trophy", not disclosed in the text, will confuse many.

Finally, let's repeat the well-known requirement for a newspaper headline: to be not only concise, but also accurate, to match the tone and style of the text placed under it. Unfortunately, this requirement is often ignored in Russian newspapers. For example, in the publication entitled " Out Loud by touch "(World in a week. 1999. N 13) we are talking... about the art of dubbing films. Title " Vira! "(Version. 1999. July 27-Aug 2), about the meaning of which the author of the article says as follows: "so shout at the construction site when lifting the load", precedes the article devoted to the economic views of the financier Godzinsky.

All of these headlines in one way or another mislead readers about the content of the materials placed under them.

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