Charles Apple, at VisEds.com shows great perspective, honesty on cutesy headline writing:

Who are we showing? Our colleagues, our bosses, maybe even a headline judge. But readers? Seldom do they care. They’re looking for news, and a clever headline doesn’t tell the story any better. It may even distract them from the news.

Jeez. I use puns like some people use coffee. Except I don’t put cream and sugar in them. A ban would kill me.

… He lays this down, in a post reporting about a paper banning headline puns:

The editor of the San Antonio Express-News banned all puns in headlines after seeing nine of them in April 20′s paper.

Quote: I am prepared to take disciplinary action against our most senior headline writers and editors if my order is not respected,” editor Robert Rivard wrote in an e-mail, quoted in the public editor’s column. “I do not want to be the editor of a newspaper where we limit the creative use of language. … I want even less to be the editor of a newspaper riddled with puns.

Some of the headlines in question:

Old well ends well: River Walk threat wiped out
Mumps outbreak swells
Border violence killing tourism
Bell’s name doesn’t have a familiar ring for many voters
(Pope) Benedict names a flock of new cardinals

This reminds me of some great commentary on one of my Seinfeld DVD’s. Jerry said all their episodes are called “The ______” (The Bubble Boy, The Chinese Restaurant, etc.). All the show titles are very short and to the point because he didn’t want the writers wasting time thinking on clever names, instead he wanted them to concentrate on writing better comedy in the episodes. Great idea.

All bets are off on The Daily Show though. They have some of the best headline/title card puns in the history of the planet Earth.