Headlines

Generate headlines, article titles, social posts, and email subject lines from a brief or draft. Four phases: find the charge, generate volume across named moves, tighten survivors, output per format. Core rule: volume over polish -- breadth beats optimization because word-level features predict winners weakly.

Phase 1: FIND THE CHARGE

Identify the single most compelling tension or stake in the material.

1. Read the brief, draft, or topic statement in full.
2. List every tension candidate: surprise, reversal, cost, conflict, a number that changes the picture, a stake the reader holds.
3. Pick ONE -- the charge. Write it as one sentence naming who is affected and what is at stake.
4. Test: would a reader who saw only this sentence want the rest? A topic label ("Kubernetes networking") fails; a live tension ("DNS resolved yesterday, fails today, nothing changed") passes.

Gate: Charge is one sentence, names a specific tension, is true to source. A weak charge produces 20 weak headlines.

Phase 2: GENERATE VOLUME

Produce 15-25 candidate headlines spread across these ten named moves. Write fast; judge later.

The Ten Headline Moves

Rules:

1. Cover at least 6 of the 10 moves. Tag each candidate with its move.
2. Keep every candidate anchored to the Phase 1 charge.
3. Pull concrete material from the brief: numbers, names, error messages, dates.

Gate: 15-25 candidates, each tagged, at least 6 moves represented. Fewer than 15 means the charge is under-mined -- return to the brief.

Phase 3: TIGHTEN

Select and sharpen 3-5 survivors.

1. Score every candidate 1-5 on: specificity, tension, accuracy to the brief. Sum the three.
2. Keep the top 3-5. Require move diversity -- two candidates from the same move compete for the same reader reflex; keep the stronger one.
3. Tighten each survivor:
   • Cut filler; front-load the charge into the first 3-4 words.
   • Replace any vague noun with the concrete one from the brief.
   • Verify every claim against the brief. The headline promises only what the content delivers.
4. Drop any survivor that needs a hedge to stay accurate. Promote the next by score.

Gate: 3-5 survivors, each accurate, each from a distinct move where possible.

Phase 4: OUTPUT PER FORMAT

Adapt survivors to the formats the task needs.

Per-platform specs from content-engine (references/platform-specs.md) win on length when both apply.

Output format:

## Headline Options

**Charge**: [one-sentence charge]

### Article titles
1. "[title]" -- [move]
2. ...

### Social posts
1. "[post]"

### Subject lines
1. "[subject]"

**Recommendation**: [pick one, one sentence why]

Gate: Each requested format has 2+ options. Recommendation given with reasoning.

Integration

• writing: when the writing voice pipeline's hook scores below 8, the HOOK-GATE agent may run Phases 1-3 here against the article body to surface the concrete detail the opening should lead with.
• content-engine: supplies titles and subject lines for pipeline output; content-engine owns per-platform format specs.
• Standalone: usable directly on any brief, draft, or topic.

Error Handling