11
Writing Leads
Once a reporter has conducted their interviews, it is time to write. Where to begin?
The lead.
The lead or lede is pronounced LEED and is the first paragraph of any news or feature story.
Consider the lead your first-date outfit. It’s designed to grab the reader’s attention and give a good first impression of your story. If you do not have a good lead, you will lose the reader.
Writing a news or feature lead is often a path into writing the entire news story. Not all journalists start with the lead, but most do. For new writers, beginning with the lead will help you develop an outline of the entire story.
There is a tried-and-true process for lead writing. To begin, a reporter needs to have interview transcriptions, research and documents ready. Many journalists review their notes before they begin to write and highlight any information that feels crucial to include in the story.
With their notes nearby, a reporter can create an opening paragraph that puts their best information forward. A handy way to organize those thoughts is by writing out the classic five Ws and an H.
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- How
In a 2015 paper titled “News Writing for Print,” Ricky Telg and Lisa Lundy explain these letters. They write that the five Ws and H also can be the questions that a news story should answer, such as:
- Who said or did something?
- What was said or done? What happened?
- When was it said or done? When did it happen?
- Where was it said or done? Where did it happen?
- Why was it said or done? Why did it happen?
- How was it said or done? How did it happen? How does this affect me?”
Telg and Lundy also write that “what” and “who” are most often used in leads.
Let’s go through an example of creating a lead using this process. Below is fictional information added to the five Ws and H form.
- Who: College president
- What: Received an award
- When: Yesterday
- Where: On campus
- Why: The president opted not to take a salary for an entire year while working to help get the college back to financial solvency.
- How: The local chamber of commerce found out about the lack of a paycheck and presented the college president with a plaque and breakfast honoring the sacrifice.
Now that the information is in the format, a journalist can look at what could go in the lead. Rank the information from most newsworthy (1) to least newsworthy (6). This is a judgement call for the reporter based on the factors of newsworthiness in Chapter 4.
In this example, the most interesting information is not the “when” or “where.” The “what” is not the most interesting, either, as awards are common. The “why” in this example is newsworthy. The college president declined a paycheck because the college was struggling financially. That should be the lead.
Not all of the five Ws and H can fit in a lead. Unlike papers written in an English class, the lead needs to be short. One sentence is recommended. Two is the most you would use.
According to Telg and Lundy, “A good lead generally will contain at least three of the five Ws and H. However, one mistake writers sometimes make is trying to put too much in a lead. The lead should be brief, no more than 25 words.”
Using the information from above, let’s write an effective lead by getting directly to the best part of the story. Start with a dateline.
A dateline is the location where a story is happening. Not all media organizations use a dateline, but many do to inform the reader of the location. It is often capitalized.
According to The Associated Press, “a dateline tells the reader where we obtained the basic information for a story. A byline tells the reader who wrote the story.”
For most stories, the AP adds, the dateline is where the event took place. But if the story is longer or includes people from multiple locations, the dateline should be “where the staffer covering the story is located.”
Example:
Dateline: SAN MARCOS
Lead: The Palomar College president declined a salary for a year while working to get the college’s budget problems fixed, according to the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce in an award given yesterday.
In this example, who, what, when and why are used in the lead. But it’s still a bit long. Let’s edit out excess words to get it to under 25. When editing your lead, use strong, active verbs. Avoid the temptation to write it like a headline. It must be a fluid and complete sentence.
Example:
SAN MARCOS — Palomar College’s president declined a salary for a year to fix school budget problems, according to the local chamber of commerce.
Now the lead is 21 words long and tells the reader immediately what this story is about. It also might make the reader curious about why declining a paycheck was the answer or how the budget problems began.
A lead might need to be revised several times as the story evolves. It also could change in format. There are three types of news leads and six types of feature leads to consider.
Types of Leads
Basic News Lead
A basic news lead is a concise and direct lead that tells the reader the most important part of the story immediately. It is one sentence and ends with attribution.
Here’s the basic news lead format — Dateline: Most interesting and newsworthy information and time element here, according to your source.
I coach my students that to write this lead, they should first tell me the most interesting thing about their story in one sentence. That’s usually close to a basic news lead.
This lead helps writers avoid the natural tendency to bury the lead and leave the good information for later.
I love to tell the story of my college roommate who came home from school and started talking about her day. Halfway through her 10-minute monologue, she said she got hit by a car while on her bike. I was barely listening, but I stopped cold and exclaimed, “You got hit by a car?”
My roommate only had minor cuts and bruises, and she buried the lead, hiding the key facts among less vital information. If she was using the basic news lead, she would have opened with, “I got hit by a car on my way home from school today” and then described the facts leading up to it, with my undivided attention, of course.
Start with the best stuff first. Resist the urge to revert to an English format with an introductory paragraph that eases the reader into the main idea. Phillip Molnar, a writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, wrote a basic news lead on Oct. 5, 2023.
Example:
Lead: Construction has started on a 164-home project in Bonsall with Texas-sized houses.
Nut graf: The Havens will have homes starting near $1 million and up. The single-family homes range from 1,942 to 3,000 square feet and feature two-car garages and many bedrooms. Lot sizes run from 5,000 to 8,000 square feet.
Summary Lead
The second type of news lead is called a summary lead. A summary lead is a one- or two-sentence news lead that summarizes two to three points of a news story. These are often used by reporters covering speeches or meetings where many different news items occur. Here are two fictional examples.
Example:
- SAN MARCOS — The City Council voted to raise taxes, add a new park and restrict parking downtown at a meeting Tuesday.
- WASHINGTON — The President talked about his plans for fixing the borders, providing more birth control options for women, and climate change during the State of the Union address Tuesday.
Both leads include main topics in general terms. The details come later in the story. Here is a summary example from the San Diego Union-Tribune by Kristen Taketa in Oct. 5, 2023.
Example:
Lead: Since 2020 school districts across the country have weathered complaints and contentious board meetings about masks, school closures, COVID-19 vaccines and discussions of race in school.
Now the latest widespread backlash to hit public schools has centered on the LGBTQ+ community, and San Diego County is no exception.
Delayed-Identification Lead
It’s an effective lead that can be combined with other leads to make the first paragraph direct and to the point. It does not work with famous people, whose name makes them inherently newsworthy.
For a private citizen or low-level public officials, use an identifier in the lead and name them in the second paragraph. An identifier can be city of residence, occupation, age or gender.
Example:
- A college student was found …
- An Encinitas man was sued …
- The Poway mayor attended the …
- A 23-year-old man was killed…
The Washington Post published an article on Oct. 8, 2023 that featured a delayed-identification lead.
Example:
RIO DE JANEIRO — Three orthopedic physicians were shot and killed early Thursday morning at a beachside kiosk in an upscale part of town in what authorities are calling a targeted execution that may have been politically motivated.
Remember: If the person is well-known, avoid delayed-identification leads and start with their name, as in this Oct. 5, 2023 example from the New York Times:
Example:
Dianne Feinstein, who rose to national prominence representing California in the U.S. Senate for more than 30 years, will be laid to rest on Thursday after a public memorial service in San Francisco.
Anecdotal/Narrative Lead
An anecdotal/narrative lead begins with a story or anecdote related to the overall theme. This lead can be in a news story but is well-suited for feature stories. It begins by introducing the reader to a three-to-five paragraph mini-story that gives a snapshot of a larger article.
Here’s a notable Oct. 2, 2023 narrative example from New York Times reporter Katrina Miller:
Example:
There is a memorable scene in “Oppenheimer,” the blockbuster film about the building of the atomic bomb, in which Luis Alvarez, a physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, is reading a newspaper while getting a haircut. Suddenly, Alvarez leaps from his seat and sprints down the road to find his colleague, the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
“Oppie! Oppie!” he shouts. “They’ve done it. Hahn and Strassmann in Germany. They split the uranium nucleus. They split the atom.”
The reference is to two German chemists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, who in 1939 unknowingly reported a demonstration of nuclear fission, the splintering of an atom into lighter elements. The discovery was key to the Manhattan Project, the top-secret American effort led by Oppenheimer to develop the first nuclear weapons.
Except the scene is not entirely accurate, to the chagrin of some scientists. A major player is missing from the portrayal: Lise Meitner, a physicist who worked closely with Hahn and developed the theory of nuclear fission.
This is a long lead but brings the reader into a lengthy story about Meitner and her contributions in the field by beginning with a small story about her.
Direct-Address Lead
Are you paying attention while reading this chapter? If so, you have just experienced the benefit of a direct-address lead. This type of lead uses the word “you” to get readers’ attention. It can be effective, but beware of overusing this technique. It lends itself to a casual style and a story that directly impacts a set of readers. For example, if you’re writing to college students about a trend that specifically affects them, that might be a time for a direct-address lead.
Natalie B. Compton of the Washington Post uses a direct-address approach in a Sept. 12, 2023 lead about vacations:
Example:
If you’re feeling immense woe as summer fades away, hold off on your seasonal despair. Fall is coming, but you don’t have to say goodbye to your dreams of sun and sand just yet. Piña coladas, pools and palm trees are still attainable, even if people are already gearing up for leaf-peeping.
Scene-Setter Lead
The scene-setter lead is like the narrative lead in that you’re taking the reader on a journey into your story. In a scene-setter lead, a reporter describes the scene where the story takes place. If you’re writing about a new movie theater, use your senses to place the reader there. The lead should describe the expanse of the movie screen, the laughter of the audience and the smell of the popcorn. If readers feel pulled into a story, they are less likely to leave it early.
This scene-setter example about Montana and the television show “Yellowstone” was published in October 2023 by the Washington Post.
Example:
BOZEMAN, Mont. — The Taylor Fork Creek, a tributary of Montana’s famed Gallatin River south of Bozeman, rushes downstream from the steeply slanted high peaks of the Taylor Peaks to the west, wending through a high mountain and wildflower-studded meadow as the horse corrals for the Nine Quarter Circle Ranch come into view. At 7,000 feet of elevation, the view is breathtaking.
It’s also the natural backdrop for one of TV’s most talked-about shows.
These days when people say “Yellowstone” you can’t be certain they’re referring to America’s first national park. More often than not, they’re referring to one of television’s most popular series by the same name. Paramount Network’s drama about the fictional Dutton family ranch set in Montana’s Paradise Valley has smashed viewer rating records and is driving millions of tourists to visit the state.
Blind Lead
A blind lead is a feature lead that deliberately teases the reader by withholding a key piece of information. The theory is that a reader will keep reading to find out what happened. This can be an effective way to help a reader finish a story. A sports story on the game-defining play could introduce the play in the lead but not tell readers until later exactly what happened. Don’t overuse this lead, either, as readers have only so much patience.
San Diego Union-Tribune writer Michael Karima used a blind lead on Sept. 21, 2023 by mentioning a source’s childhood but not getting into the traumatic details until later.
“Inspired by childhood experiences in the Middle East, oculofacial surgeon Dr. Jean-Paul Abboud spends time volunteering to help children through eyelid and facial reconstructive surgery.”
Startling-Statement Lead
Next comes a lead in which research is key. A startling-statement lead begins a story with a shocking fact to get readers’ attention. Finding suitable facts relies on good research.
An example: One in four Americans will be infected with a sexually transmitted disease at some point in their lives, according to health officials.
New York Times writer Soumya Karlamangla created a lead that shows just how impactful a strike by a particular medical group could be in an Oct. 5, 2023 example.
Example:
Lead: Kaiser Permanente has an enormous footprint in California.
The organization, based in Oakland, is the largest private employer in the state, operating 36 hospitals and more than 500 medical office buildings in California. It provides coverage to roughly half of all Californians with private health insurance.
Karlamangla used the facts about Kaiser’s large enrollment numbers in California to illustrate the impact of a strike there.
Wordplay Lead
This type of lead is tough to pull off. A wordplay lead uses clever wording or presents phrases in an unconventional way. It quickly can veer into ridiculousness, so be careful. Get someone else’s opinion on whether your lead would make the reader smile or roll their eyes.
Example:
Lead: Rock: College president Jane Smith: Hard place.
Nut graf: Smith has no good options when making budget cuts …
Lead to Avoid
New writers tend to make the same mistakes when choosing a lead. There are several types to avoid in news and feature writing.
Duh Lead
A duh lead is one that tells the readers something obvious and not newsworthy. It’s a bad habit from many new writers’ days of introductory paragraphs in English essays. Instead of getting right into the news, the story begins with something the reader already knows, such as where a college is located or that a meeting was held. Avoid this.
Example:
SAN DIEGO — The City Council held a meeting at City Hall on Monday night.
Question Lead
A question lead begins a story by asking a question. Some journalism classes and textbooks endorse using question leads, but they’re problematic for new writers. For one thing, a person reads a story to learn something, not to be quizzed on the topic.
Second, a question lead is a lazy way to introduce a story. Reporters should challenge themselves to write a more creative introduction.
Example:
SAN DIEGO — Do you think textbooks are too expensive? A new study found that more than half of students in a random survey said …
Quote Lead
A quote lead is one that begins with a direct quote. This is another type that pops up in the stories of new reporters. A quote lead is confusing to readers because it feels like they’re coming into the middle of a conversation.
A good journalist strives to include readers from the beginning of the story and hold on to them the entire way. Confusing quotes can derail those efforts.
Another issue with a quote lead is that most quotes are not good enough to launch a story. Quotes typically need some sort of introduction and context to make sense to the reader.
A mantra among journalism professors is that unless your quote is something like “I have returned,” said Jesus Christ, save it for after the lead.
Attribution Lead
If you remember from previous chapters, attribution is the source of your information. After spending so much time talking to a person, it feels natural to introduce them in the lead. But resist the temptation. An attribution lead is one that starts with the subject who gave you the news instead of the news itself. It weighs down a lead. Instead, put the subject at the end of the lead. You might need to flip your sentence around to avoid an attribution lead.
Example:
- The mayor told the audience Tuesday that a new stadium will be built in the city next year.
- Better lead: A new stadium will be built next year, according to the mayor in a speech Tuesday.
Yesterday Lead
Much of what a journalist writes already has happened. Timeliness is an important part of an article’s news value. A yesterday lead is to be avoided because it focuses on information that occurred too long ago.
A lead needs to focus on the latest news. When you’re covering an ongoing event, the lead should reflect the latest developments. If it’s no longer timely, the story shouldn’t be published.
Example:
- The jury deliberated Monday on the libel suit between the college president and its campus newspaper, according to court officials on Tuesday.
- Better: After four hours of deliberations Tuesday, a jury requested more transcripts from a libel trial between a college president and the campus newspaper, according to court records.
Double Negative Lead
A double negative lead is a type that reports on what did not happen or what is missing. If a study is released that finds that 40 percent of people read books regularly, that should be the focus. In a double negative lead, the story instead would focus on the 60 percent of people who didn’t report regularly reading books. Stick with what the story knows, not what it’s lacking.
Fanciful Lead
A fanciful lead is one that exaggerates, misleads, or reports half-truths to make a story more interesting. Sometimes when you’re reporting a story, it turns out to lack news value. A reporter might be tempted to make it sound better than it is. Resist that and remember the ethical guidelines of reporting the truth.
An example of this came when I was an adviser at the campus newspaper. A reporter turned in a fantastic story about a club recruiting event on campus. The story made the event sound busy and lively.
Then the photographer came back with the photographs. No one had shown up. The event had been a bust. The reporter told me that she felt bad for the organizers and wanted to help by making it appear fun. Her compassion was admirable, but the story was a lie. The reporter went back to the event to interview the organizers again. She created a better story about how the event had struggled with turnout, but the organizers hoped to implement some changes to improve the next one.
Key Takeaways
- The lead or lede is the first paragraph of any news or feature story and should include some of the classic five Ws and an H: who, what, when, where, why, how.
- There are three types of news leads, six types of feature leads and seven leads to avoid.
- News Leads
- Basic news lead: A concise and direct lead that tells the reader the most important part of the story immediately.
- Summary lead: A one- or two-sentence news lead that summarizes two to three points of a news story.
- Delayed-identification lead: A news lead in which a person is described in the first paragraph, but the name is introduced later.
- Feature Leads
- Anecdotal/narrative lead: A feature lead that begins with a story or anecdote related to the overall theme.
- Direct-address lead: A lead that uses the word “you” to get readers’ attention.
- Scene-setter lead: A lead that describes the scene where the story takes place.
- Blind lead: A feature lead that deliberately teases the reader by withholding a key piece of information.
- Startling-statement lead: A lead that begins a story with a shocking fact to get readers’ attention.
- Wordplay lead: A lead that uses clever wording or presents phrases in an unconventional way.
- Leads to Avoid
- Duh lead: A lead that tells the readers something obvious and not newsworthy.
- Question lead: A lead begins a story by asking a question.
- Quote lead: A lead that begins with a direct quote.
- Attribution lead: A lead that starts with the subject who gave you the news instead of the news itself.
- Yesterday lead: A lead that focuses on information that happened too long ago.
- Double-negative lead: A lead that reports on what did not happen or what is missing.
- Fanciful lead: A lead that exaggerates, misleads, or reports half-truths to make a story more interesting.
- News Leads
Chapter Exercise
It’s time for dessert. Visit People magazine’s website, which has news stories about the entertainment industry. Click through the articles and try to find one example each of the following leads. Copy and paste the lead next to the lead type.
-
- Basic news lead example _____________________________
- Summary lead example _____________________________
- Delayed-identification lead example _____________________________
- Direct-address lead example _____________________________
- Scene-setter lead example _____________________________
- Blind lead example _____________________________
- Startling-statement lead example _____________________________
- Wordplay lead example _____________________________
