Stumbled across an old but interesting memo from Gawker Media writer Paul Boutin to managing editor Noah Robischon (which was immediately leaked to New York Magazine’s Vulture site). Valleywag (a Gawker sister site) then reported on the leak, linking to NYMag and running the piece themselves.
Here are the bullets:
- One Glint Of Nasty Underclass Rage Per Post
- Apply Denton’s ‘Mix A Plus And A Minus’ (‘The Charmingly Incompetent CEO’)
- Focus On People, Not Companies Or Products (‘Microsoft’ Isn’t Dying, CEO Steve Ballmer Is Killing It)
- Be Insulting, But Surprising
- One Joke Per Post (Hit The Note And Stop)
- One Real Zinger Is Better Than Three Insults Per Paragraph
- Don’t Criticize Directly (If You Can Show Ridiculous Thinking Instead)
- Don’t Rebut Each Stupidity Separately (No Fisking. Just Quote The Dumb Parts)
- If You Wouldn’t Say It, Don’t Write It (No One ‘Takes Umbrage’ In Real Life)
- Avoid Journalist Math (‘Some Say,’ ‘Many Feel,’ ‘Few Believe’)
- Give Specific Quotes From Linkable People Summing Up The Mood
- Bail Out (Surprise Readers By Quitting Early)
How About Headlines? James Fallows interviewed Nick Denton and two of Gawker’s writers for the Atlantic. Here are their tips:
“It’s almost as if you’ve got to get the whole story into the headline,” Brian Moylan said, “but leave out enough that people will want to click.”
“You can kill a story by using a too-clever headline,” Maureen O’Connor said. “You want the dumbest headline possible!”