The pragmatics of headlines. Central issues and future research avenues.

Despite their central role in mediated linguistic communication, headlines have not been a prime topic of linguistic pragmatics. However, not only may pragmatic notions and categories prove useful for a comprehensive account of strategies of headline communication, headlines may also provide interesting test cases for current pragmatic debates. In this editorial, I provide a short overview of previous pragmatic research into headlines, sketch the relevance of headline studies for current research trends in pragmatics, and emphasize the need for a more systematic pragmatic approach to headline communication. Finally, I introduce the four research papers which make up this virtual special issue, providing short summaries of their main findings and clarifying their contribution to the topic of the special issue. • Headlines play a central role in mediated linguistic communication. • Linguistic pragmatics may contribute to a more consistent and more comprehensive understanding of headline communication. • Headlines provide interesting test cases for current pragmatic debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]