LEADS Summary and multiple-element leads: Leads where the “what” is emphasized

Summary leads Used when the whole is more important than the parts. Used to sum up several important actions rather than highlighting a specific action. Used in rare occasion where a general statement is preferable to a specific action.

Summary lead examples A bill requiring employees to give workers up to three months unpaid leave in family emergencies won Senate approval Thursday evening. The Moline City Council replaced the city’s 75-year-old municipal code with a revised version Tuesday night.

Summary lead examples An Idaho farmer’s fence apparently was cut last week. It set off a chain of events Friday night that landed three people in the hospital, killed a cow and totaled a vehicle in the eastern Spokane Valley. Is the whole more important than any of its parts?

Multiple-element leads Used when two or more actions are of equal importance. Used when one theme is too restrictive. Used when actions can be relayed within the confines of one, clear, simple sentence. Usually use parallel structures.

Multiple-element leads Used frequently when reporting on councils, boards, commissions, legislatures, courts because they act on numerous issues in one sitting. The rest of the story must follow the order that information in presented in the multiple-element lead.

Multiple-element lead examples The City Council Tuesday ordered three department heads fired, established an administrative review board and said it would begin to monitor the work habits of administrators. A flash fire that swept through a landmark downtown hotel Saturday killed at least 12 persons, injured 60 more and forced scores of residents to leap from windows and the roof in near-zero cold.

Multiple-element leads Sometimes multiple-element leads may take two paragraphs if two elements need prominent display and both are fairly complicated. Advice: Simple is preferred. Use multiple-element leads sparingly.

Other options Use graphic devices, such as summary boxes. Other council action: Voted to resurface three streets Delayed start on water treatment plant Hired city planner

Other options Sidebar: Breaking a story into small segments. Presents information in short, palatable bites. Increases readers’ comprehension and retention. Each story usually gets byline and headline. Allows writer to elevate more elements to lead position. Possible pitfall: Not enough space

Other options Subheads: Smaller headlines are inserted within the text of the story to break off other major happenings that occurred. Usually used in longer stories. (more than 20 inches)