Leads, leads. Why are they so important?

How To Write Good Story Leads

     Journalism leads are like first impressions. You want to make sure they're good.

___The way journalists report the news may be changing, but having a strong story opening remains as important as ever.

Have a look at the following video and start thinking about the topic:

Remember: A lead sets the tone and mood for the rest of your story, so choose carefully. Depending on what you're writing about, certain leads may be more appropriate than others.

http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199846412/student/chapter8/exercise/exercise2/

Activities

Follow the instructions for each of the sections below.

Condensing Lengthy Leads

Activity 1

Condense each of these leads to no more than two typed lines, or about 20 words.

1.    Roger Datolli, 67, of 845 Conway Road, a retired attorney and husband of Mayor Sabrina Datolli, who is serving her fourth term as mayor, was injured in a three-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon around 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of Warren and Davidson avenues, suffering a broken leg and several broken ribs when the car he was driving was struck broadside by a pickup truck driven by Jerry R. Harris, 31, of 2245 Broadway Ave., and then was pushed into the path of another vehicle.

2.    The city Planning and Zoning Commission met Thursday for its regularly scheduled  meeting and voted 3-2 to approve a joint plan by the citys Council of Government and the local Chamber of Commerce to renovate the core downtown business district by building a convention center and sports arena complex that will serve as a site for business meetings and conferences as well as possibly host a minor league hockey team on the Olympic-size ice rink planned for the site.

Activity 2

Using the Proper Sentence Structure

Rewrite the following leads, using the normal word order: 

subject, verb, direct object. 

Avoid starting the leads with a long clause or phrase. You may want to divide some of the leads into several sentences or paragraphs. Correct all errors.

1.    Wondering whether or not it was legally possible and if they could muster enough votes to support their desire to see changes implemented in the downtown historic section of the city, city council members Sandra Gandolf and Alice Cycler at the regular monthly city council meeting raised the issue of having the city's planning and zoning commission look into the possibility of creating a local board to oversee changes to buildings within the six-block downtown historic district.

2.    Because the victim contributed in large measure to his own death by refusing medical attention that might have saved his life after the incident, James K. Arico, the 47-year-old man accused of stabbing him in the chest during an argument seven months ago, was allowed to plead guilty to assault today and was sentenced to six months in the county jail. He had been charged with murder.

Activity 3

Emphasizing the News

Rewrite the following leads, emphasizing the news, not the attribution. Limit the attributions¹ to a few words and place them at the end, not the beginning, of the leads.

1.    At a news conference held at the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon the head of the agency told reporters that the Senate's approval of a plan to dump nuclear waste material in the Nevada desert near Las Vegas  will provide a safe haven for  more than 77,000 tons of radioactive waste.

2.    Tracy Tibitts, Lisa Drolshagen and Dorothy Brayton, all members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority at Iowa State University, appeared in a local courtroom this morning and testified that the defendant, Steven House, appeared drunk when he got into his car to leave the party moments before he struck and killed the pedestrian.

^{1 Attribution is stating who made the quote or gave the information}

Practice

Maybe you need some extra practice choosing the right words as a first step.

So, go to: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/grammar-and-vocabulary-exams/choose-correct-word

Or recognizing words that do not belong?
For practice go to: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/grammar-and-vocabulary-exams/odd-one-out

Or, is building words  your issue?
For practice go to: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/grammar-and-vocabulary-exams/word-building

Prepositions are also important when writing, and a different preposition or a wrong one can be a disaster when writing leads.

For practice go to:https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/grammar-and-vocabulary-exams/words-go-together

Ok, now go to a lead exercise and check whether you are prepared for them.

Go to the link below and to really understand the exercise click the CHECK 1 button, that way you will have a clearer picture of what to do.

Go to: http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/intros.html

Good luck!

This is the end of our Lab work.

See you around and have a fantastic end of the term.

Prof. Maller