For many years, the Rocky Mountain News has employed punny headlines on lighter articles and features, whereas the folks at the Post have tended toward more straightforward -- and, therefore, blander -- banners. Recently, however, Posters are loosening up -- and that's all to the good.
Because some readers either won't like or won't get certain jokes, there are risks involved in this strategy. Take "Black Power," a headline on a January 21 sports piece about Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, the first two African-American head coaches to face off in a Super Bowl, which struck one of my regular correspondents as offensive. (To me, it merely felt forced.)
Still, I'll happily accept the occasional clunker of a headline -- hell, I've written plenty of them in my day-- if it means others demonstrate a spark of wit. And that's no bull.-- Michael Roberts