1. Writing a Good Lead
Catch Their attention!

2. Inverted Pyramid p. 123

3. 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
Resolution
Exposition

4. Changing History
News Stories were written as regular stories – slow progressive pace UNTIL
The Telegraph was invented
What changed?

5. 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

6. Identify The News Hard News – Stories about timely, breaking news
Soft News – Less timely feature stories about individuals or about lifestyle issues.

7. 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

8. What is a Lead? Beginning of any story Entices the reader to continue
Very Short – words – Out take p. 127 / p. 147
No Bias
USUALLY should tell the reader
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
How?

9. Soft News Leads Main goal: catch the reader’s attention
Answering ALL 5 questions not necessary – but you still may
Instead of an inverted pyramid, a storytelling organization can also be used

10. Storytelling Flow ONLY used on soft news
The clincher reveals the conclusion of the story necessary for understanding (p. 128)
Clincher
Lead
Fact
Fact
Fact

11. DON’T BE BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. Summary Lead Most traditional Should be used sparingly
Summarizes the gist of the story
Usually shorter – less than 30 words
About 1 sentence

13. Blind Lead
Great to use if the person involved is NOT known to the public
Adds suspense to keep the reader reading
Use when the WHO is not as important as the WHAT

14. 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)

15. Storytelling Lead Makes readers feel the drama in the event
Introduce by jumping straight to the conflict and characters
Usually includes dialogue

16. Short Sentence Lead
Capture the readers by a clear, short sentence that captures the essence of the story.

17. Amazing Fact Lead
Share an amazing fact with the readers about the story content
Captures attention
Make SURE the fact is accurate
Make SURE the fact matches the story content

18. 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

19. List Lead Impress the readers with lists of same situation events
Supports your point as the writer

20. Word Play Lead
Using satire, a pun, or humor can get readers interested
Use sparingly and ONLY when appropriate
Be careful about sloshing someone’s name.

21. Opposite Lead
Start out with an opposite viewpoint than the entire article
Great for editorials / opinion pieces
Helps prove your point
Effective for using pros / cons

22. Mix it up and keep your leads interesting!
Summary Lead
Blind Lead
Scenic Lead
Storytelling lead
Short Sentence Lead
Amazing Fact lead
Startling Statement Lead
List Lead
Word Play Lead
Opposite Lead

23. Examples
P. 118
P. 121