Journalism 110

Summary Leads

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Lead: beginning of a news story. In general, a lead

• tells what the story is about
• draws the reader in

For the typical hard news story, a summary lead is used. The summary lead includes the most important information.

How do you know what's important?

By remembering news values: timeliness, conflict, prominence, impact and unusual nature.

The summary lead answers some of the basic questions of the story: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

Who: the most important people in the story; all those involved; correctly identified.
What: the major action; the other actions.
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Why: the immediate reason it happened.
How: the explanation; the background.

Summary leads usually follow a subject-verb-object structure.

A summary lead is short. Usually, it is no longer than 30 or 35 words. Imagine that each word costs $10. The fewer words, the less the cost. But don't leave out too many words.

• You cannot get everything into the lead, so don't try.
• Death and destruction always go in the summary lead.
• Famous people usually go in summary leads.
• Unknowns generally do not go in leads.
  
• Your lead may include attribution, but it doesn't have to. Attribution goes at the end, not the beginning. (More on attribution to come.)
  
• And, of course, your lead should be accurate with no misspelled names.
  

-- Adapted from Carole Rich, Missouri Group, Melvin Mencher, Chip Scanlan

"Leads, like titles, are flashlights that shine down into the story"

-- writer John McPhee

After you write your lead, ask yourself whether you:

• Avoided repetition. (A fire burned down a house at 2307 Main St. last night burning it to the ground.)

• Read it aloud to make sure it was easy to understand.

• Avoided present tense.