Here are some things to keep in mind:
1. The headline on a hard-news (breaking) story can (and probably should) be based on the story's lead. The lead, after all, is a summary meant to present the essentials of the story in about 35 words. The headline is also a summary. The difference, of course, is that the headline writer has fewer words for his or her summary.
2. Think first in terms of subject-verb-object. That is a common pattern of the English sentence, but it also works nicely for summarizing many of the news events reported in the newspaper.
3. Headlines should be written in the present tense.
4. It's preferable to write headlines in the active voice (the active voice is stronger and less wordy than the passive), but it's certainly OK to use the passive voice to make a headline fit the space better.
5. When possible, keep thought units on the same line. Keep on the same line adjectives and the nouns they describe and prepositions and the nouns to which they are connected. It's OK to break this general rule when working with an especially difficult count, usually the count for one-column, large-type heads.
6. Be sure to include attribution in headlines that summarize news stories that include attribution. This rule is just as important to follow in headline writing as it is in reporting.
7. Write headlines that include as many specifics as possible. Prefer, for example, Council Increases Pot Penalties to Council Approves Pot Ordinance.
8. Be just as careful in headlines as in stories of accuse people's rights. People are suspects who have done alleged acts or are accused of or charged with crimes until they are convicted.
9. Avoid headlines with double meanings. See the text, P. 184, for examples.
10. Spread your imaginative wings when appropriate. See P. 186 for some good headlines.