I ask this question after seeing the screen grab (posted above) of this headline from CNN.com (posted on Friendfeed).

That headline is a rare triple-entendre. There’s the first meaning: “juggling balls” as in “attending ten inaugural balls.” There’s the second reading: “juggling balls” as in “throwing actual balls in the air.” Then there’s the pubescent child’s reading: “balls” as in “testicles.”

I found it giggle-worthy and kind of brilliant, precisely because of its three ways of word play. Then I took a closer at the screen shot. See that little t-shirt icon to the right? Yep. This headline was also available on a t-shirt.

This isn’t a new feature for CNN.com. Headline t-shirts have been available since last spring. One of my coworkers, a CNN.com alumnus, purchased one last fall. I bought one myself after Obama’s election victory.

But that particular headline made me wonder: Are CNN.com’s headline writers trying to write t-shirt worthy headlines? And if so is that a bad thing?

Before I continue, I must add this disclaimer: I AM NOT SAYING THAT CNN.com EDITORS TRY TO WRITE T-SHIRT-WORTHY HEADLINES. I DO NOT KNOW HOW OR WHY SOME HEADLINES ARE CHOSEN AS T-SHIRT OPTIONS, though I certainly would like to. Surprisingly, this is not a frequently asked question.

I’ll also add that when I checked CNN’s headline t-shirt store, this headline was no longer for sale.

People being people, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if headline writers didn’t think — at least some times — “Oh man, this would be teh awesome on a t-shirt!” I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

The point of a good headline, after all, is to sell the story. “Sell” in this sense usually means “entice to read or click.” But good headlines — and by “good” I mean “appropriate in tone, reflective of the story, and either emotionally moving, clever, witty, or humorous” — also have the less obvious goal of selling papers and generating ad impressions.

Though sales (of ads and of copies) in the literal sense may not be top of mind for headline writers, I think it’s less than honest to say that “selling” of some kind isn’t a consideration. That’s precisely why I think it’s okay if the folks at CNN.com strive to write t-shirt worthy headlines.

Web site editors will often write or rewrite headlines to generate page views from readers and search engines. In the online world, good headlines = more page views. More page views = more revenue. Selling headlines on t-shirts just removes a step and makes for a shorter equation.