CATCH THEIR ATTENTION!

Writing a Good Lead

Inverted Pyramid p. 123

History of the Pyramid

Think: Literature. Inverted or regular pyramid?

Where is the most important information here?

Why wouldn’t this work in News Writing?Climax

Exposition Resolution

Changing History

News Stories were written as regular stories – slow progressive pace . . . . . UNTIL

The Telegraph was inventedWhat changed?

Testing the Pyramid p. 126

Crop Testing – If you can crop the bottom few paragraphs of your story, you have successfully used the inverted pyramid

Identify The News

Hard News – Stories about timely, breaking news

Soft News – Less timely feature stories about individuals or about lifestyle issues.

Hard News Leads

- MUST answer all 5 questions - Always uses the Inverted Pyramid- Who? What? When? Where? Why? - Reader needs to know the MOST important

information in the lead. Why?- Interest rate: Order your information from

MOST important to LEAST important before you begin

- Write your lead- Practice p. 122 #2, 3

What is a Lead?

Beginning of any storyEntices the reader to continueVery Short – 35-50 words – Out take p. 127 / p. 147No Bias

USUALLY should tell the reader Who? What? When? Where? How?

Soft News Leads

Main goal: catch the reader’s attentionAnswering ALL 5 questions not necessary –

but you still mayInstead of an inverted pyramid, a storytelling

organization can also be used

Storytelling Flow

ONLY used on soft newsThe clincher reveals the conclusion of the

story necessary for understanding (p. 128)LeadClincher

Fact

Fact

Fact

DON’T BE BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summary Lead

Most traditionalShould be used sparinglySummarizes the gist of the storyUsually shorter – less than 30 wordsAbout 1 sentence

Blind Lead

Great to use if the person involved is NOT known to the public

Adds suspense to keep the reader readingUse when the WHO is not as important as the

WHAT

Scenic Lead

Begins with a description of the scene surrounding an event

Great for stories where the setting is key (festivities, beautiful scenery, games, productions)

Storytelling Lead

Makes readers feel the drama in the eventIntroduce by jumping straight to the conflict

and charactersUsually includes dialogue

Short Sentence Lead

Capture the readers by a clear, short sentence that captures the essence of the story.

Amazing Fact Lead

Share an amazing fact with the readers about the story content

Captures attentionMake SURE the fact is accurateMake SURE the fact matches the story

content

Startling Statement

Arouse the reader’s attention about potentially boring content by shocking them into reading more

Pick the MOST interesting part of the story and run with it

List Lead

Impress the readers with lists of same situation events

Supports your point as the writer

Word Play Lead

Using satire, a pun, or humor can get readers interested

Use sparingly and ONLY when appropriateBe careful about sloshing someone’s name.

Opposite Lead

Start out with an opposite viewpoint than the entire article

Great for editorials / opinion piecesHelps prove your pointEffective for using pros / cons

Mix it up and keep your leads interesting!

Summary LeadBlind LeadScenic LeadStorytelling leadShort Sentence LeadAmazing Fact leadStartling Statement LeadList LeadWord Play LeadOpposite Lead

Examples

P. 118P. 121