Critiquing Newspaper Leads

How-to: News Leads h/t The Student Newspaper Survival Guide by Rachele Kanigel

The goals of every lead are to: - Report the essential details of the story - Lure the reader into the piece - Make the reader want to read more

A news lead, also called a summary lead or direct lead, delivers the news immediately. These leads are generally short—one or two sentences at most— and include the most important details. Writers typically try to limit news leads to 30 words or fewer so they’ll be easy to read.

Here are a few examples:

The Hynes Student Center was evacuated for about an hour Wednesday as a result of a phoned-in bomb threat. It was the second threat made on the building in less than a month.

Former Northwestern linebacker Braden Jones, who left the university in March after being charged with assaulting and trying to rob a taxi driver, will return to NU as a student and football player this week, he said Monday.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you write your lead:

1. Write tight – use short sentences. 2. Leave unnecessary details out – put them later in the story. 3. Avoid passive verbs. 4. Translate jargon. 5. Steer clear of clichés. 6. Highlight the news that’s most important to your readers, not to readers of other publications or readers who don’t exist. Critiquing Newspaper Leads

Let’s see if the following leads measure up to the standard we established above:

1. Headline: “Rev. White Couldn’t Care Less About Leviticus 20” Lead: It's not every day a congregation witnesses a reverend standing behind a podium, wearing a pink shirt and cashmere socks to match, and saying, "I'm so glad I'm a queer but – oh my God – what it took to get here."

2. Headline: “Does Teach For America Work?” Lead: Teach For America (TFA) is an innovative program designed to close the achievement gap in American high schools by recruiting high achievers from selective universities and placing them in low-income school districts for two year teaching stints.

3. Headline: “A Glimpse into Worker-Management Relations at CC” Lead: “A man must work in order to live. If he can express no control over his conditions of employment, he is subject to involuntary servitude,” proclaims a senate report on the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which passed Congress in 1932.

4. Headline: “Pittsburgh G-20 Protests Highlight Neoliberalism Woes” Lead: Tens of thousands of protestors marched into the streets during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Seattle on November 30, 1999. News Lead Writing

Number one There were a lot of people on the Northwestern University beach yesterday. Four lifeguards were on duty. It was a hazy day and the lake was choppy. Peter Jones was pronounced dead on arrival at Evanston Hospital. Before he was taken to the hospital, the lifeguards tried to revive him, but failed. He had died, a drowning victim. Peter Jones was 13 years old. He was missing for 40 minutes before a search began for him. His friends from Haven Junior High School in Evanston said he was not a good swimmer. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter and three divers to help in the search. Peter, a Native American, lived at 819 Noyes St. in Evanston. He lived with his mother, Marguerite Jones, who is an assistant in the Political Science Department at Northwestern University.

Number two Clevis Iron Works president Robert Johnston called a news conference this morning to announce expansion of farm equipment manufacturing. “Competitors had better watch this well-managed company, which is certainly going to be doing big things from now on,” he said. Among items to be made: tractors, planters and cultivators. Clevis Iron Works to expand farm equipment manufacturing in January. The new plants will be right here in Evanston. Will provide 425 additional jobs, and the company hopes to fill at least half of them with women and minorities. The company founded here in 1918 to make wagons and buggies.

Number three Hi. This is Carmen Tifton talking. Editor of Fad Magazine. How’s the weather there in Chicago? Ha. Ha. Well, I’m calling to announce that one of your Evanston girls won first in the nation in an essay-writing contest our magazine sponsored. How about that? Her first-place prize money is $1,500. Not bad, eh? Let’s see. Her name is Melissa Beale. Lives at 629 Broad Avenue. Her father is an Evanston police officer. She’s a senior at Evanston Township High School and is 17 years old. Her contest entry was titled “My Stake in Democracy.” In her essay she explained that “America is great because America is free.” Anyway, this gal has real talent, unless her teacher wrote the essay for her. Ha. Ha. Her contest form states that she plans to attend Northwestern University and study journalism. That’s a good school. My brother-in-law went there. By the way, she’s the first lady to ever win this contest, and this is the 9th year we’ve run it. All the others have been guys. What’s this world coming to, anyway?