Ledes or Leads? February 4th and 5th.

Writing the lead

Focusing on the lead -- and its 5 Ws and an H -- enables the rest of the news story to fall into place. Once a reporter has finished interviewing and gathering information, it's time to think about how to begin the story. Seems easy, right? Sometimes, the proper lead for a story is obvious. But sometimes, there are several satisfactory ways to begin a story, and the reporter's task is more difficult. Consider the following hypothetical situation.

The Facts
• Flooding closed Mount Si High School for two days this winter
• The Snoqualmie Valley School Board has issued a revised schedule for the rest of the year.
• Instead of extending the school year, the board decided that students must make up the missed days on two days originally scheduled to be Spring Break.

Who is who?
In writing the lead, the reporter must decide which "who" is this story's most important "who" -- students or the board of education. One way to decide is by checking some out some of the qualities that make some stories more "newsworthy" than others (these are not necessarily in order of importance).
Step two/explanation

Newsworthy Qualities

• Prominence: How well known are the people involved in the story? If the people involved are well known to local readers, or are well known on a national level, readers will be more interested in the news. Think about how things celebrities do are often big news, but if you or your neighbors did the same thing it probably wouldn't be news at all. That’s prominence at work.

• Proximity: Location, location, location. If the event is happening close by, it will impact local readers more than if it is happening across town, or across the world. Watch a local newscast when a tragedy or disaster strikes. Chances are they'll mention if any local people were killed or injured. That’s proximity.

• Timeliness: If something is happening NOW, it has more impact than something that happened yesterday or last week. No one wants to read old news, so start off with the newest development to keep readers interested.

• Oddity/Uniqueness: Think Weekly World News and Ripley's Believe it or Not. If something is unusual, the oddity alone can make it newsworthy, because people want to know why it has happened.

• Consequence: An event or decision with consequence is one that will affect readers' lives in some way. The bigger the impact, the more readers will want to know about it. That's why big businesses laying off workers, construction projects that will cause detours and traffic slowdowns, distracted driving laws, and food recalls are news -- they will make a difference in people's lives, and they need to know how they will be affected.

• Human interest: Human-interest stories appeal to reader's emotions. They may make a reader happy, nostalgic, sad, angry or sympathetic.





Step three/putting it together
Once the facts are squared away, break them down into the 5 W's and an H.
• Who: Students
• What: Must make up two additional days of school
• When: During time originally scheduled for Spring Break
• Where: At Mount Si High School
• Why: To make up two missed days of school due to flooding
• How: by attending school

Once the facts are broken down, the lead practically writes itself!

A helpful hint: When writing a lead, start with the W or H that is the most important for the reader to know about, or that will matter the most. Then, the other elements follow in a logical order.
One more helpful hint: The best lead is the one that says the most in a few words (25-30), yet makes its points clearly and doesn't confuse the reader.
OK, one more: Sometimes, one of the W's/H is left out of a lead. This can be a good way to develop the rest of the story-especially if the why or how is long and complex-but those details MUST be in the story somewhere!

What is a lead?

A lead is a simple, clear statement that makes up the first paragraph or two of your story. It advertised what is coming in the story. It is sometimes spelled lede.
What is the first step in writing a lead?
The first step is determining a story's relevance.
How do I determine a story's relevance?
Ask "So what?" or "Who cares?"
What are the six basic questions that every story must answer?
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

How long should a lead be?
Leads should be short, usually fewer than 25 words.
What's an inverted pyramid?

The organization of a news story in which
information is arranged in
descending order of
importance.



What are the different types of leads?
There are many, but what follows are five types of leads:

• Immediate identification: This lead focuses on the "who" when it comes to the six basic questions. Use this approach when someone important is making news. For example:

President George W. Bush ate a cheeseburger and fries with students Friday during a visit to Our High.

• Delayed identification: In this lead, the "who" is not immediately identified by name. Instead, the "who" is identified by an occupation, city or job title. Use this approach when the person involved has little name recognition among readers.

A cafeteria worker at Andrew Jackson High won $2.5 million Friday in the state lottery.

• Summary: The lead in this case is a synopsis of two or more actions. Reporters who deal with several important elements may choose to sum up what happened rather than highlight a specific action. His is one type of lead where a general statement is preferable to a specific action.

• Multiple elements: This lead reports on two or more newsworthy elements. In some stories, choosing one theme is too restrictive. A multiple-element lead allows the reporter to work more information into the first paragraph. (Use sparingly.)

• Leads with flair: Use this type of lead when you want to emphasize novelty. It deviates slightly from the inverted pyramid approach.

What should I avoid in a lead?

There are no hard and fast rules, but remember:

• Too many numbers can bog down a lead. You can tell readers how the numbers will affect them in your lead then provide details later in the story. For example, if prom tickets were $50 per person last year and the price increased to $75 per person this year, your lead could say:

Seniors shouldn't spend that extra $25 dollars on appetizers and dessert for dinner before prom-they'll need it to pay for tickets. The student council voted Friday to raise the price of prom tickets.

• A quote lead may not be the best choice. Quote leads often lack context. The reader doesn't know who is speaking or why it matters.

• Try not to start with dates, times or places … unless those are the most important news. Start with people and what they are doing or have done.

Bad Lead
On Friday, July 15, 2001, three students won a statewide choral competition.

Good Lead
Three Our High juniors took home $500 and top honors Friday in a statewide choral contest.