Clicking on a link and having it open in a new tab/window should be a user profile setting that's turned off by default so the current behavior remains the same, but users that prefer this behavior can override the default.
Validation: I would suggest first time someone clicks a headline after the feature is live — that by default before opening a new window the user gets an alert allowing them to configure the setting and confirmation they understand how to edit it later if needed.
Comments
Clicking on a link and having it open in a new tab/window should be a user profile setting that's turned off by default so the current behavior remains the same, but users that prefer this behavior can override the default.
Re-Idea: Agree, sounds useful.
Validation: I would suggest first time someone clicks a headline after the feature is live — that by default before opening a new window the user gets an alert allowing them to configure the setting and confirmation they understand how to edit it later if needed.