prndi lead writing 101

8/7/2019 PRNDI Lead Writing 101

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Lead Writing 101

Judith Smelser, News DirectorWMFE Orlando



It Doesn’t Matter What YouSay if Nobody’s Listening



Latest action

Crux of story – Answers at least one of the who,

what, where, when, how and why questions

Tells listener why he or she should care

Newscast Spot Leads



Basic Rules for Lead Writing

• Be Active

• Don’t Bury the Lead

• Be Selfless

• Be Brief

• Be Specific

• Beware of Wordy Titles

• Avoid Clichés



Be Active

Always write in active voice.

Someone is doing something

NOT

Someone is having something done to them.



Be Active

A bill outlawing corporal punishment was passed

by the legislature today.



Be Active

A bill outlawing corporal punishment was passed

BY THE LEGISLATURE today.

The legislature voted to outlaw corporal

punishment today.



Be Active – Don’t Bury the Lead

We usually tell a story chronologically.

That’s usually NOT the way to write a newscast

lead.




Last week, the governor said he wanted to cut

the budget. But now he’s proposing a 3

million dollar plan to crack down on drugdealers.




LAST WEEK, the governor said he wanted to cut the

budget. But now he’s proposing a three million

dollar plan to crack down on drug dealers.

The governor announced a three million dollar plan

to crack down on drug dealers today. The

proposal comes just days after he promised tomake big cuts in the state budget.




Florida’s citrus growers are still assessing the

damage from two nights of sub-freezing

temperatures across the peninsula. They saythere was some frozen fruit but it’s too early to

know what the impact will be to the state’s $9

billion dollar-a-year citrus industry.




Florida’s citrus growers are STILL ASSESSING thedamage from two nights of sub-freezing temperaturesacross the peninsula. They say there was some frozen

fruit but it’s too early to know what the impact willbe to the state’s $9 billion dollar -a-year citrusindustry.

Florida citrus growers report some frozen oranges intheir groves, but they say it’s too early to know thefull impact of this week’s sub-freezingtemperatures.



Be Selfless

Resist the temptation to save the best part of the

story for yourself!



Be Selfless

Thousands of visitors to Walt Disney World ride

the Monorail every day. Yesterday, many of

them got a big shock, as Jane Doe reports.



Be Selfless

Thousands of visitors to Walt Disney World ride

the Monorail every day. Yesterday, many of

them got a big shock.

Two Monorail trains crashed into each other at

Walt Disney World yesterday.



Be Brief

This is the flip side of Being Selfless!

Don’t make the anchor tell the whole story.

While no anchor should have to read a lead cold,sometimes they do, so your lead should be

easy to read on the fly.

Write in short, complete sentences – no complexcompound sentences.



Be Brief

A crowd of potential Republican contenders for

Democrat Joe Smith’s U.S. Senate Seat is

already shaping up, and among them are twocurrent Congressmen and two state lawmakers.

But a recent poll shows none of them has what

it takes yet to unseat Smith. Instead, as JaneDoe reports, the one person who could do it is

a former Governor.



Be Brief

A crowd of potential Republican contenders for Democrat JoeSmith’s U.S. Senate Seat is already shaping up, and amongthem are two current Congressmen and two state lawmakers.But a recent poll shows none of them has what it takes yet to

unseat Smith. Instead, as Jane Doe reports, the one person whocould do it is a former Governor.

A new poll shows former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is theonly person who can unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Joe

Smith in next year’s election. The survey suggests none of the Republicans currently in the race have enough supportto win.

(Details about the contenders can go in the body of the piece.)



Be Specific

A meeting happened today? That’s boring.

Something was accomplished at a meeting?

That could be interesting.

And if nothing happened, you probably don’t

need to report it anyway!



Be Specific

A local education task force held its monthly

meeting in Boring City today.



Be Specific

A local education task force held its monthly

meeting in Boring City today.

A local education task force says Boring City

should close ten elementary schools to save

money.



Be Specific

The census bureau announced new population

numbers today.



Be Specific

The census bureau announced new population

numbers today.

Florida will gain two Congressional seats

because of new census numbers released

today.



Beware of Wordy Titles

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Food Safety

at the state Department of Health testified

before the House Subcommittee onAgricultural and Consumer Affairs today.



Beware of Wordy Titles

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Food Safety

at the state Department of Health testified

before the House Subcommittee onAgricultural and Consumer Affairs today.

The state Health Department’s top food safetyofficial told lawmakers today that spinach

may not be safe to eat.



Avoid ClichésA Special Plea from NPR Newscast

• THE UPPER HAND--when firefighters start getting control of a fire

• NO STRANGER TO--if someone is in trouble with the law again

• LITTLE --typically goes before a toddler's name ("LITTLE Johnny Smith")

• TOOK TO THE STREETS -- for protests and rallies

• THE BIG DANCE -- the NCAA men's basketball tournament

• A ROBBERY GONE BAD -- When is a robbery "good"?

• AS EXPECTED – if it was expected, why are you reporting it?



A Few Other Details

Facts that can change should be in the lead.

Examples: Number of dead and injured,

number of customers without power, etc.

Include a pronouncer for anything the anchor

could possibly mispronounce.



Questions to Ask Yourself

• Do I say something is being done “by” someone?

• Do I use phrases like “last week” or “last month”?

• Am I trying to save the best stuff for myself or makethe host tell the whole story?

• Do I start with something generic, like a meetingbeing held?

• Do I use wordy titles or clichés?• Will the listener know the crux of the story and want

to listen to the rest of it after hearing the lead?



Feature Leads

Less emphasis on immediacy, more on grabbing

listener’s interest

Ok to be a little more free form

But don’t go crazy!



Feature Leads

In impoverished Honduras, problems range from a lack of resources for education, to the lack of food and even the mostbasic healthcare. A group of medical missionaries from thegreater Blanksville area takes several trips a year to help theHondurans who need it the most. But what they'veencountered over the years is a big catch-22: a cyclicalenvironment of malnourishment and disease. The missionaries'challenge is to teach Hondurans the wherewithal to break the

cycle. Dr. Tom Camp, who heads up the Alabama/HonduranMedical Educational Network, or AHMEN, spoke withWXYZ’z Joe Blow.



Feature Leads

In impoverished Honduras, problems range from a lack of resources foreducation, to the lack of food and even the most basic healthcare. A groupof medical missionaries from the greater Blanksville area takes several tripsa year to help the Hondurans who need it the most. But what they'veencountered over the years is a big catch-22: a cyclical environment of

malnourishment and disease. The missionaries' challenge is to teachHondurans the wherewithal to break the cycle. Dr. Tom Camp, who headsup the Alabama/Honduran Medical Educational Network, or AHMEN,spoke with WXYZ’s Joe Blow.

A quarter of all Hondurans live on less than a dollar a day. They lack

formal education, food and even the most basic healthcare. A group of medical missionaries from the greater Blanksville area takes severaltrips a year to Honduras – hoping to help break the cycle of malnourishment and disease. Dr. Tom Camp heads up the group. Hespoke with WXYZ’s Joe Blow.



What do you think

about all this?



Lead Writing 101:

It Doesn’t Matter What You Say if Nobody’s Listening

Judith Smelser

News Director, WMFE Orlando

[email protected]

prndi lead writing 101

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