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Writing Ledes. You have three seconds…sssgo!. Journalistic writing is specialized — it requires you to combine basic writing skills with specialized information. The News Lead. The first paragraph of the news story. Usually, but not always, is one sentence.
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Writing Ledes You have three seconds…sssgo!
Journalistic writing is specialized —it requires you to combine basic writing skills with specialized information.
The News Lead • The first paragraph of the news story. • Usually, but not always, is one sentence. • The do-or-die paragraph where you win or lose the reader. • Must get to the point quickly.
Inverted Pyramid Puts most important information first, and the rest of the facts are arranged in descending order of importance. Lead - Most important info Body - Other facts in descending order of importance Cut-off - The least important information; can be cut for space
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? 5 Ws and One H
The VIP The VIP or (very important point) is the most important answer to Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How? It should usually be placed at the beginning of the lead sentence.
Summary Lead The summary lead is the briefest summary of facts, other than the headline. Summary leads are most appropriate for hard news or “just the facts” news stories.
Avoid… • Speaking directly to the reader • Cheerleading and editorializing • Rhetorical questions • Fragments, comma splices and other grammar errors.
