Chapter 7

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The lead (aka lede)

 The beginning of the story that entices the reader  Crucial in any medium ▪ Especially in today’s media environment ▪ Social media ▪ Print ▪ Broadcast ▪ Online

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The lead

▪ Tells the reader what the story is about  Hard-News Leads ▪ Also called Summary leads  Soft news leads ▪ Also called feature leads  Nut Graphs ▪ Also called the focus graph

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Hard-News leads

 Aka - Summary leads ▪ Should answer several, but not necessarily ALL of the 5 W’s ▪ Choose the most important of the 5 W’s for the lead ▪ Save the others for the second or third paragraph  Subject-Verb-Order ▪ Effective format for summary leads  “Who did what” or “what happened” ▪ Avoid writing summary leads with clauses (pg 124)

 Order of information ▪ When writing a summary lead ▪ ▪ The point of emphasis should be the first or last words Decide which elements are the most important  Point of emphasis ▪ Most of the time when writing a hard-news lead ▪ ▪ Put the most important info first Otherwise put it at the end of the lead

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Active vs Passive voice

 Active voice is preferred in print & broadcast ▪ Stresses who is doing the action   Passive voice should be used ▪ When emphasis is on what happened instead of who

Where to say “When”

 Time can be confusing in a lead ▪ For prior day events, when doesn’t come first ▪ When used, make sure it’s placed where accurate (pg 127)

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Delayed Identification

 When the who is not a well known person ▪ Identify them by age, location, occupation or other description in the lead.

▪ Identify them by name in the second paragraph  Be aware of laws and newsroom policy about names of juveniles and criminal offenders

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Updated leads

▪ Used for stories that have already been introduced ▪ Provide immediacy for continuing stories

Impact leads

▪ Explains how the reader & viewer will be affected ▪ Good for broadcast stories ▪ Help to make stories seem fresh and relevant ▪ Help to answer the question “So What”

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Attribution leads

 Tell the reader where you got your information  Too much attribution can clutter a lead ▪ If you witnessed the information ▪ You can eliminate the lead ▪ If you received it from a source/interview ▪ Include attribution

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Soft lead

 Coaching tips ▪ Write multiple leads vs struggling to find the perfect one ▪ Make sure lead is related to focus and can be backed up ▪ Don’t strain to create a lead from your head ▪ Pull from the story to develop it

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Descriptive leads

 Describe a person, place or event   Can be used for a news or feature story

Anecdotal leads

 Starts with a story about a person or an event.  All soft leads are anecdotal ▪ They are storytelling approaches

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Narrative leads

 Like anecdotal, tell a story with dramatic action ▪ To make readers feel like a witness to the event  Use writing techniques of fiction including ▪ Dialogue ▪ Scene setting ▪ Forshadowing

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Other soft leads

 Soft leads can be written in many ways ▪ Focus on a person lead ▪ Contrast lead ▪ But-Guess-What contrast ▪ Then and now contrast

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Teaser lead Mystery lead Build on a quote lead List leads Question leads Cliché leads

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Leads to avoid

 Cluttered leads  Good news/Bad news leads  Crystal ball leads  Nightmare leads

 Plop a person leads  Weather-reports leads  Stereotype leads

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Tips for finding your lead

▪ Reader interest ▪ Memorable item ▪ ▪ Focus on a person Descriptive approach ▪ Mystery approach ▪ Build on a quote ▪ Contrast ▪ Problem/Solution ▪ Narrative Storytelling