Text 4 types of leads

There are two main types of leads: direct and delayed. The direct lead reveals immediately what the story is about. It is the summary or statement of the most important events contained in the story. It is the climax, the result of the investigation, the theme. If you told a joke as you wrote a direct lead, you would place the punch line first.

The direct lead – also called the summary lead – is usually one sentence, but sometimes two. It answers immediately, in 25 words or less, the main questions of who, what, when and where. It is the workhorse of daily journalism, used at the top of most stories.

The best direct leads start with a compelling noun and a strong verb, not with a prepositional phrase. William Caldwell, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, recalled the best lead he ever heard. The year was 1922. “I was on my way home from school and my stint at the local weekly. My little brother came running to meet me at the foot of the street. He was white and crying. A telegram had come to my mother. 'Pa drowned this morning in Lake George,' my brother gasped. I was ashamed to admit my inner response. Before I could begin to sense sorrow, despair, horror, loneliness and anger, before all the desolation of an abandoned child could well up in me, I found myself observing that the sentence my brother had just uttered was the perfect lead. Noun, verb, period, and who-what-when-where to boot.”

There is a second type of lead that is used mostly on feature stories. It is the delayed or feature lead. It usually sets a scene or evokes a mood with an incident, anecdote or example. The writer may foreshadow events to come or create a sense of foreboding or anticipated surprise. Essential information is temporarily withheld. The writer teases before she pleases.

The delayed lead can be short, perhaps two sentences, or it can be longer, up to four paragraphs. The delayed lead still must fulfill the two roles of the lead: it must capture the essence of the story and do it in a way that encourages the reader to continue. Like the direct lead, it leads the reader straight to the heart of the story.

When the lead is delayed and does not immediately explain the main point of the story, it is important to include the theme statement somewhere high in the story, usually within the first four paragraphs. If you ask the reader to wait before he learns what the story is about, be sure to reward him with a clear statement of purpose, also known as a nut graph.

Leads must be honest. They should never promise what does not follow in the story. Don't begin with a startling or sensational anecdote if it is not organically related to the theme. As writer John McPhee said, "A lead should not be cheap, flashy, meretricious, blaring a great fanfare of trumpets, and then a mouse comes out of its hole."

Now you will get some knowledge about writing good leads as it is suggested in the book by Bender, R., Davenport, L., Drager, M., Fedler, F. Reporting for the Media, 9^th ed., Oxford University Press (if you are interested in this book, you may find it on the Internet: http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/ 9780195337433/ student_resources/).

At first, you are given examples which show bad lead and then examples of better (improved) leads for stories. You are also given some commentary how to write leads.

The following example (slightly exaggerated) is a traditional lead that attempts to answer all six questions.

Andrew A. Kernan, 18, a student at Central High School and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kernan of 1432 Hillmore Lane, died at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when his car over­turned near a sharp curve on State Road 12.

REVISED: An 18-year-old student was killed Tuesday when his car overturned while he was driving home from high school.

Each of the following leads emphasizes the answer to only one of the six basic ques­tions – the question that seems to be most important for that particular story:

WHO: Three teen-agers, including a 14-year-old who is eight months pregnant, today were sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbing and murdering a cab driver.

HOW: A 15-year-old boy in the county jail ripped part of a sheet from his bedding and used it to hang himself from a coat hook in his cell.

WHERE: Turbulent air 35,000 feet above the state jolted an Eastern Airlines jet last night injuring 23 passengers and 3 flight attendants.

WHY: Desperate over the breakup of his marriage and financial problems, Teddy Bruce Flichum killed his 2-year-old son, then committed suicide in a motel room Wednesday.

Sentence Structure in Leads

1. Man dies on railroad tracks.

REVISED: A 19-year-old Detroit man was killed early Tuesday when he was hit by a train while lying on some railroad tracks just south of Nova Road.

2. The federal government issued a report about welfare recipients today. The report stated that the number of welfare recipients in the United States has risen to 14.4 million, a record high.

REVISED: The federal government reported today that the number of welfare recip­ients in the United States has risen to 14.4 million, a record high.

3. While on a routine patrol, a police officer discovered that burglars had pried to open the back door of a liquor store on Pennsylvania Avenue and stolen more than 100 cases of whiskey Thursday night.

REVISED: Burglars pried open the back door of a liquor store on Pennsylvania Avenue and stole more than 100 cases of whiskey Thursday night.

Be Concise

A county education official Wednesday said she favors spanking elementary school chil­dren but admitted the practice should not be used on high school students.

REVISED: A county educator Wednesday said she favors spanking elementary school children, but not high school students.

Be Specific

A secretary whose child was born handicapped is suing a medical laboratory for what she says was negligence.

REVISED: A secretary whose child was born blind and deaf is suing a medical laboratory which failed to detect her exposure to measles. Because of the negative test results, she decided to continue her pregnancy.

Use Strong, Active Verbs

One person was killed and four others were injured Sunday morning when their car, which was traveling west on Interstate 80, hit a cement bridge pillar and was engulfed in flames.

REVISED: A car traveling west on Interstate 80 swerved across two eastbound lanes, slammed into a cement bridge pillar and burst into flames, killing one person and injuring four others Sunday morning.

Emphasize the Magnitude of the Story

1. PENSACOLA (AP) – A National Airlines Boeing 727 carrying 60 people plowed into Pensacola Bay on a landing approach late Monday night, killing at least one.

2. A power failure plunged New York City and Westchester County into darkness last night, disrupting the lives of nearly nine million people.

Stress the Unusual

A local restaurant was robbed of $62 early Tuesday morning.

REVISED – An elderly woman who was armed with a knife and said she needed the money to buy Christmas toys for her grandchildren robbed a local restaurant of $62 Tuesday morning.

Localize and Update Your Lead

1. The FBI reported today that the number of violent crimes in the United States rose 8.3 percent during the last year.

LOCALIZED: The number of violent crimes committed in the city last year rose 5.4 percent, compared to a national average of 8.3 percent, the FBI reported today.

2. Two men robbed the First National Bank, 1841 Main St., of about $20,000 yesterday and shot a police officer in the chest.

UPDATED: A police officer shot during a bank robbery is reported in critical condition today at Memorial Hospital.

Be Objective and Attribute Opinions

An afternoon fishing trip turned into tragedy Wednesday when a 41-year-old mechanic drowned in Clear Lake.

REVISED: A 41-year-old mechanic drowned Wednesday after he apparently suffered a heart attack while fishing in Clear Lake and fell out of a small boat.

Emphasize the News

A country and western bar on Benson Avenue was the scene of a fight last night that left one man critically injured.

REVISED: A 41-year-old man is in critical condition after being stabbed by his brother-in-law outside a country and western bar on Benson Avenue.

Avoid “Label” Leads

LABEL LEAD: The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report on alcoholism today.

REVISED: Alcohol is the major drug problem in the United States, and one out of 10 working Americans suffers from alcoholism or a lesser drinking problem, the Department of Health and Human Services reported today.

Avoid Unfamiliar Terms

Health care for the poor is substandard in this county, according to medical health care experts who met at an AMA conference here. They hope that Vertical Integration Systems will help reverse that trend.

REVISED: To improve medical care in the county, experts want to establish eight clinics in poor neighborhoods and to refer only the most serious cases to specialists at County Hospital.

Avoid Lists

Their family home, a new Cadillac, $2,500 a month, and a 50 percent interest in their family business were awarded to Claire Marcial, who sued her husband for divorce.

REVISED: As part of the divorce settlement, a judge awarded Claire Marcial their family home, a new Cadillac, $2,500 a month and a 50 percent interest in their family business.

Avoid Stating the Obvious

The college's Placement Center has a wide variety of information and facts to help prepare students for their future careers.

REVISED: On Monday, the college's Placement Center will install computers in every building to inform students about new jobs and job interviews.

Avoid the Negative

Americans over the age of 65 say that crime is not their greatest fear, two sociologists reported today.

REVISED: Americans over the age of 65 say their greatest fears are poor health and poverty, two sociologists reported today.

Avoid Exaggeration and Misleading Readers

 WRITING ACTIVITIES 1

To practice your skills in writing leads in English you are offered some tasks. The following exercises are taken from the book you have already known by John R. Bender and others Reporting for the Media.

Task 3

a) Condensing Lengthy Leads.

You are asked by the editor to condense each of the leads (written by the beginning journalists) to no more than two typed lines, or about 20 words. Think of your audience and the issue where this story can be published.

Roger Datolli, 67, of 845 Conway Road, a retired attorney and husband of Mayor Sabrina Datolli, who is serving her fourth term as mayor, was injured in a three-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon around 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of Warren and Davidson avenues, suffering a broken leg and several broken ribs when the car he was driving was struck broadside by a pickup truck driven by Jerry R. Harris, 31, of 2245 Broadway Ave., and then was pushed into the path of another vehicle.