Jay Leno created the recurring “Headlines” segment on The Tonight Show.
The feature became one of Leno’s signature comedy devices during his time hosting The Tonight Show. Viewers sent in photographs of amusing, embarrassing, or unintentionally funny signs and advertisements, and Leno displayed them while reading the wording aloud. The humor generally came from spelling mistakes, awkward phrasing, or accidental double meanings.
“Headlines” was associated especially strongly with Leno’s version of the program, which he hosted from 1992 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2014. It grew from a segment used in his stand-up comedy and became a regular part of the show’s identity.
The segment is sometimes confused with newspaper or magazine jokes from other talk shows. Its defining material was viewer-submitted visual signage, not a conventional news roundup.