Writing the Lead

A lead is the beginning of a news story.

Get right to the point.

A good news lead summarizes the main focus of the news story, lets the reader know what to expect, and entices the reader to read on.

A good lead should be less than 25 words.

To decide on the lead you must answer the question "What is this story about?"

Most leads answer the 5 Ws and the H questions.

In most cases a lead should be one simple, declarative, active sentence.

The primary types of leads include the straight news (or summary) lead, the quote lead, the anecdotal lead, the list lead, the descriptive lead, and the question lead.

Examples:

1. Taxes will go up for homeowners in Mount Holly Springs next year. (Straight or summary lead)

2. "It was a hell of a melee," said Dean of Students John McIntyre. McIntyre was discussing a brawl that erupted on the Lafayette College campus last night, after two students got into an argument about smoking. Nine students were injured before campus police broke up the fight. (Quote lead)

3.Mary Silva was pushing her 2-year-old daughter, Tiffany, in a stroller through Riverside Park yesterday afternoon. The toddler was practicing new words she had learned. She pointed out "tree" and "truck" and "flower" much to her mom's delight.
Then Tiffany said, "dog!"
But the animal she saw was not a dog; it was a coyote.
A rapid increase in sightings of coyotes in the city has wildlife officials, pet owners and parents concerned. (Anectdotal lead)

4. A freshman died of alcohol poisoning after a homecoming party at Adams College.
A sophomore died in an alcohol-related car crash after a fraternity party at Blackstone College.
A senior plunged to his death after drinking a bottle of vodka at an off-campus party at Cleveland College.
These three events, all within the last six months, have brought the problem of college alcohol abuse to the public's attention. (List Lead)

5. Police Chief David Johnson sits quietly in his backyard in a residential neighborhood on the north side of town. A gentle breeze rustles the leaves on the tall bamboo plants behind the low stone bench where he is sitting. Red and gold koy fish swim in the small fishpond at his feet. His position is similar to that of the seated Buddha in the statue across the pond from his bench.
"I like to sit and meditate here." says Johnson, who may be the only Buddhist police chief in West Virginia. (Descriptive Lead)

6.What's the oldest house on Cape Cod?
The Hoxie House, the oldest house on Cape Cod, was built in 1675 for the Rev. John Smith, his wife Susanna and their 13 children.
A proposal to spend $1.5 million to restore and preserve the house will go before the residents at town meeting next week. (Question Lead)

Stories should have one main point that is put into “one or two paragraph nutshell summary high up in the story.” This is the focus paragraph or “nut graf.” In a hard news story this is usually the lead itself.

Never bury the lead.

Avoid leads that place readers in unlikely situations.
“Your child asks you for help with a science fair project.”
“Online assistance is now available for parents whose children ask them for help with science fair projects.”

Avoid cliché leads.

Clichés should be avoided by the plague. The ability to spot a cliché separates the men from the boys. This flies in the face of the ideas that cliché is worth its weight in gold. Remember the brevity is the soul of wit, no news is good news, a picture is worth a thousand words, and what goes around comes around.