What is the word for a smaller headline under the main headline of a newspaper article? For instance, in the following (dumb) example, what is "Witnesses Blame Driver" called?
FIVE DEAD IN BUS CRASH
Witnesses Blame Driver
I'd say a 'subheading' is the best word (also known as a 'subhead'). Although 'subtitle' is, to my knowledge, also correct and most logical, people tend to reserve it for referring to printed translations (e.g. of films).
A related issue: A news item that requires the reader to wade through two or three paragraphs of "human interest" stuff before getting to the story itself. A headline, for example, that reads: THREE DEAD IN FREAK ACCIDENT will be followed by a story beginning, "Little did Joe Blow realize when leaving his suburban ranch Tuesday morning that he would..." And on and on. It's my firm belief that news items should start right out with the who/what/when/where details. Reminds me of the network TV ploy, "Where is your tax money really going? Details after these messages about bad breath." Does this have something to do with the perceived attention span of the reader/viewer?
And what is this device called? A grabber?
I have heard it called the hook. Which seems pretty descriptive.
Back when I was in the biz, we called it a "back-in lead." The hook is the immediate news development that you hang a story from.