Leads

Getting Your News Story Started

What’s A Lead?• The first paragraph of a news story• Contains the most important

information – the news. • Sets the “stage” for everything that

follows.• If your lead sucks, the rest of your

story will suck.

Summarizes the Story• Summarizes the news as quickly

as possible • Should be one fluid sentence of 23

to 35 words (three to four lines).• Should answer most important of

the 5 Ws and H.

Example• PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The

Northern California couple charged with kidnapping Jaycee Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years must be given the opportunity to speak to each other while in jail, a judge said Friday.

What are the Ws and H ?

•Who•What•When•Where•Why•How

Who?• The person (people) involved• The exact name should be used

only when it is clearly the most important fact.

What?

• Well, duh … what exactly happened?

• That’s the news

Where?• The location • Whichever of the following applies:

address, city, state, country, region

When?• The time the event occurred• The date the event occurred• If it applies, the year the event occurred• Avoid using words such as yesterday

and last night. • Never start with the date or time of the

event/incident. Avoid: At 4:30 a.m. Friday …

Why?• If it is known• If not, explain that the information is

not available

How?• If it is known• If not, explain that the information is

not available