Great Lede, Great Story-web

Great Lede, Great Story How to Write Intriguing Intros That Readers Can’t Ignore

Presented by: Allissa V. Richardson, MSJ Assistant Professor of Journalism Morgan State University

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What is a lede? • The first sentence in your story. • The “bait” that lures in the reader. • The all-important, tone-setting element.

Good news ledes include: • An immediate mention of the 5 W’s. • A human element. • An brief explanation of the story’s impact. • A scope of the issue or scale of the event.

Good feature ledes include: • A human element. • A nice balance of immediacy and “color.” • An immediate identification of the subject.

The “Big Ten” Types of Ledes 1. Literary allusion. 2. Political/historical allusion. 3. Contrast. 4. Pun. 5. Punch. 6. Parody. 7. Direct address. 8. Staccato. 9. Sequence/narrative. 10.Then & now. Adapted from the article by Bobby Hawthorne, Former Director, Interscholastic League Press Conference

Literary Allusion • Relates a person or event to some character or event in literature. • i.e. – In P. Diddy’s world, dedicated employees chauffeur him from social events to his several business headquarters as they hold umbrellas above his head. – But on Broadway, where he stars in the first revival of A Raisin in the Sun in nearly 50 years, he plays a frustrated chauffeur, Walter Lee Younger. And in Walter's house, there is no umbrella-toting entourage to stop his family from raining on his parade.

Political/Historical Allusion • Relates a person or event to some character or event in history. • i.e. – You may think Cuba is all Castro, Communism and cigars, but there's a little piece of Havana right on the bay (of pigs, if you will), that suggests otherwise.

Contrast • Compares extremes—the big with the little, the comedy with the tragedy, age with youth, rich and poor, if such comparison is applicable. • i.e. – His wealth is estimated at $600 million. He controls a handful of corporations, operating in more than 20 nations. Yet he carries his lunch to work in a brown paper bag and wears the latest fashions from Sears and Roebuck's bargain basement.

Pun • A lead that uses wordplay to attract the reader's attention. • i.e. – Baltimore-area bars are known for being stocked with plenty of spirits—and not just the kind that fill glasses. Several of our local haunts are said to house a resident ghost or two.

Punch • Uses a blunt, explosive statement to summarize the most newsworthy feature. • i.e. – The Beatles are back!

Parody • Mimics a well-known proverb, quotation, phrase or cultural reference. • i.e. – Whisky, whisky everywhere, but 'nary a drop to drink. Such was the case at the City Police Station yesterday when officers poured 100 gallons of bootleg moonshine into the sewer.

Direct Address • Speaks directly to the reader on a subject of widespread interest or appeal. • i.e. – Do not expect any pity from the weatherman today. He forecasts a continuation of the bitter Arctic cold wave that has gripped the city for a week.

Staccato • Consists of a series of jerky, exciting phrases, separated by dashes or ellipses, used if the facts of the story justify it. • i.e. – Midnight on the bridge...a scream...a shot...a splash...a second shot...a third shot. This morning, police recovered the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Murphy, estranged couple, from the Snake River. Police found a bullet wound in the temple of each.

Sequence or Narrative • Places the reader in the midst of action. • i.e. – Kanye West and Twista have taken to the stage in their hometown of Chicago to perform their hit Slow Jamz. The screams from the crowd are deafening, but it's no ordinary concert. – It's the 19th stop of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) in a nationwide campaign to register 20 million new voters, ages 18 to 35, in the next five years.

Then and Now • Shows progress over time. • i.e. – The Rio Grande once flowed through here, a wide and robust river surging between steep banks as it followed a southward course hugging the state's curvy profile. – No more. Four-plus years of drought in West Texas and the neighboring Mexican state of Chihuahua have turned the storied river into a trickle meandering through mud and gravel fields adorned here and there with discarded tires.

Now, you try! • News peg: Pres. Barack Obama is visiting China this week, for the first time, to discuss matters concerning the economy, the environment and world peace. • Write 10 different ledes using each of the approaches you just learned. • After you are finished, read each lede. Which ledes bear the most gravitas? Which ledes are the most playful? Which would you use for a newspaper? A magazine? A blog? Television?

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