News Reporting & WritingWeek 3:Lead writingKevin Voigt

The 5 “W”s & 1 “H”

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How

News story structure1-2-3-4

• 1. The lead. What is the most important news? How can you write it in the clearest way — and make it interesting too?

• 2. Elaborate on the lead. Two, three, four or five paragraphs that explain, support and amplify lead.

• 3. Key background and context of event, if needed; information that helps readers understand more about the news they are reading.

• 4. More elaboration of the news, in descending order of importance.

Ledes: Hard Vs. SoftHard news lede

Gives readers the basic facts of what happened and where it happened

Entices readers to keep reading to find out the “how” and the “why”

Soft news lede

Gives readers a small, intriguing taste of the story

Elements of a hard lede

What happened or what was said

When the event occurred

Where the event occurred

Who (or what) was the source

Formula for a hard lede

Subject

Verb

Object

Example: “I love you.”

Not: “You are the person that I love.”

Start simple...

Keep it short; less is more

Under 35 words

Just the unadorned facts:

Donald Tsang announced yesterday that he will seek a second term as Hong Kong’s chief executive.

...and build from there

Donald Tsang, wagging a defiant finger at his critics, announced yesterday that he will seek a second term as Hong Kong’s chief executive.

Examples of hard ledesTwo New York City police officers were suspended without pay after a video surfaced showing them striking a handcuffed man this month in the Bronx, officials said Thursday.

A 41-year-old man was found stabbed to death and covered in a pile of clothes in his Midtown apartment on Thursday, the police said.

Google may be in a turbulent confrontation with China, but the company’s online advertising business is picking up speed, helping Google to widen its lead over rivals.

Examples of soft leadsWhen Cyrus Hassankola moved to Dallas a couple of years ago, after successfully going out of business in several locales, he decided to settle down and go out of business permanently.

“On a Sunday morning, not entirely awake, I decided it was a good day for a bagel,” Howard Rose said. “It turned out not to be a good day for handling a knife.”

Why wait until the next story about coagulated fat in sewers comes along when you can read this one now?

Direct LeadDirect Lead

• The direct lead is the workhorse of journalism. To decide what is the most important part of the story, ask two questions:

• 1) What was the most unique or the most important or unusual thing that happened?

• 2) Who was involved: Who did it or said it?

The lead• After answering those, ask one more:

• What words will help me write the strongest, most dramatic lead that my material permits?

• A good lead gives you a roadmap to the rest of your story.

The lead• Other points to remember:

• Attribution can wait, sometimes.

• Avoid long subsidiary clauses or titles.

• Banish jargon and legalese.

• Use a direct structure: S-V-O. Subject, verb and object. (Wong [subject] hit [verb] the man [object].)

• Time element usually goes after verb.

The Lead - Summing Up

• Decide the most important news.

• Use strong, dramatic language -- specific nouns, strong and/or colorful verbs.

• Go to the heart of the event; give time, source, place, but be concise.

• Be accurate and truthful.

The Lead - Length• The Associated Press tells its reporters to

start cutting if their leads run beyond 20 to 25 words. To find places to cut, begin with:

• Unnecessary attribution.

• Compound sentences joined by but and and.

• Exact dates and times unless essential.

• Long titles.

Good direct leads:• Four men convicted of murdering a German

family of four in a frenzied knife attack were executed in China yesterday despite pleas for clemency from the victims’ relatives.

• The what was different. Concrete, dramatic, specific language. Time. S-V-O. structure.

Good direct leads• A LaSalle College physics teacher and a lab

technician tipped off students about questions to appear in an A-level exam this year, a court heard yesterday.

• The who was important. So was attribution. S-V-O. structure.

Good direct leads

• Jewelry tycoon Tse Sui-luen’s rags-to-riches story entered its darkest chapter yesterday when a High Court judge declared the self-made company chairman bankrupt.

• Who was important. Place was important. Imagery (a bit of a cliché, but sometimes it can work). Time element. S-V-O. structure.

Rework leads• The sexual revolution has bypassed Hong

Kong, according to a survey showing many men are still looking for passive, good-looking women and women want a man with a big bank balance.

• Good approach, but what about this:

Reworking leads

• Men want passive beauties for mates while women want guys with deep pockets, a new survey says.

Assignment

• Read student profiles of yourself

• Highlight anything inaccurate in red

• Add correct information in RED CAPS

• Send back to writer and me

• Due no later than 9 p.m. Wednesday