When a Cwmbran man was convicted of assaulting his partner and biting her boxer dog in the face South Wales Argus editor Kevin Ward had the chance to write the sort of headline that comes once in a career.
“MAN BITES DOG” was the lead story of Saturday’s paper.
Ward said on Twitter: "I've waited 30 years to write that headline".
As every journalism student knows, “dog bites man” is not news but “man bites dog” is.
Or as one famous tabloid editor used to say: “I don't want dog bites man. Or even man bites dog. I want dog drives van.”
Former Fleet Street feature writer Colin Dunne took the concept even further in his memoirs which were titled Man Bites Talking Dog.
The Argus front page was tweeted by ITV Wales political editor Adrian Masters who saw it retweeted more than 1,000 times around the world.
I think that shows how many people share an interest in the production of news and recognise a good headline when they see one. It also shows how quickly information can travel the globe in the digital era.
For journalism students everywhere. Today’s @southwalesargus front page. pic.twitter.com/Xb9PDIcQjd
— Adrian Masters (@adrianmasters84) June 14, 2014
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