Words matter — especially in web heds, which should bolster readership and viewers without devolving into clickbait territory. This fun session won’t have a panel exchanging ideas about best practices. Instead, audience members will read published stories and then join in a freewheeling discussion (not unlike a news meeting) about what the web heds should be — before seeing how editors decided to top off the stories. Expect an engaging session where we’ll learn from each other and expand our minds with word-play possibilities.
Moderators: Eric Hegedus & Sharif Durhams
SHARIF DURHAMS is a senior editor for news and alerting for CNN Digital, where oversees daily planning decisions for CNN’s desktop homepage and mobile alerts. Durhams was previously a homepage editor at The Washington Post where he helped to structure coverage of the 2016 Olympics and election and directed homepage breaking news planning after the shooting of four police officers in Dallas and the announcement of Fidel Castro’s death. His team helped The Washington Post surpass The New York Times in digital traffic for the first time. The Post won the Online News Association’s General Excellence in Online Journalism award in 2015.
ERIC HEGEDÜS is a web producer, designer and writer at the New York Post, where he has worked since 2005. He previously was a designer and photo editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer and, prior to that, a photo editor and photographer for Gannett publications. Hegedus, a current NLGJA national board member and past president, is co-chair of NLGJA’s annual Headlines & Headliners New York benefit.