News Reporting & Writing

1. News Reporting & Writing • Week 3:Lead writing • Kevin Voigt

2. The 5 “W”s & 1 “H” • Who • What • When • Where • Why • How

3. News story structure1-2-3-4 • 1. The lead. What is the most important news? How can you write it in the clearest way — and make it interesting too? • 2. Elaborate on the lead. Two, three, four or five paragraphs that explain, support and amplify lead. • 3. Key background and context of event, if needed; information that helps readers understand more about the news they are reading. • 4. More elaboration of the news, in descending order of importance.

4. Ledes: Hard Vs. Soft • Hard news lede • Gives readers the basic facts of what happened and where it happened • Entices readers to keep reading to find out the “how” and the “why” • Soft news lede • Gives readers a small, intriguing taste of the story

5. Elements of a hard lede • What happened or what was said • When the event occurred • Where the event occurred • Who (or what) was the source

6. Formula for a hard lede • Subject • Verb • Object • Example: “I love you.” • Not: “You are the person that I love.”

7. Start simple... • Keep it short; less is more • Under 35 words • Just the unadorned facts: • Donald Tsang announced yesterday that he will seek a second term as Hong Kong’s chief executive.

8. ...and build from there • Donald Tsang, wagging a defiant finger at his critics, announced yesterday that he will seek a second term as Hong Kong’s chief executive.

9. Examples of hard ledes • Two New York City police officers were suspended without pay after a video surfaced showing them striking a handcuffed man this month in the Bronx, officials said Thursday. • A 41-year-old man was found stabbed to death and covered in a pile of clothes in his Midtown apartment on Thursday, the police said. • Google may be in a turbulent confrontation with China, but the company’s online advertising business is picking up speed, helping Google to widen its lead over rivals.

10. Examples of soft leads • When Cyrus Hassankola moved to Dallas a couple of years ago, after successfully going out of business in several locales, he decided to settle down and go out of business permanently. • “On a Sunday morning, not entirely awake, I decided it was a good day for a bagel,” Howard Rose said. “It turned out not to be a good day for handling a knife.” • Why wait until the next story about coagulated fat in sewers comes along when you can read this one now?

11. Direct Lead • The direct lead is the workhorse of journalism. To decide what is the most important part of the story, ask two questions: • 1) What was the most unique or the most important or unusual thing that happened? • 2) Who was involved: Who did it or said it?

12. The lead • After answering those, ask one more: • What words will help me write the strongest, most dramatic lead that my material permits? • A good lead gives you a roadmap to the rest of your story.

13. The lead • Other points to remember: • Attribution can wait, sometimes. • Avoid long subsidiary clauses or titles. • Banish jargon and legalese. • Use a direct structure: S-V-O. Subject, verb and object. (Wong [subject] hit [verb] the man [object].) • Time element usually goes after verb.

14. The Lead - Summing Up • Decide the most important news. • Use strong, dramatic language -- specific nouns, strong and/or colorful verbs. • Go to the heart of the event; give time, source, place, but be concise. • Be accurate and truthful.

15. The Lead - Length • The Associated Press tells its reporters to start cutting if their leads run beyond 20 to 25 words. To find places to cut, begin with: • Unnecessary attribution. • Compound sentences joined by but and and. • Exact dates and times unless essential. • Long titles.

16. Good direct leads: • Four men convicted of murdering a German family of four in a frenzied knife attack were executed in China yesterday despite pleas for clemency from the victims’ relatives. • The what was different. Concrete, dramatic, specific language. Time. S-V-O. structure.

17. Good direct leads • A LaSalle College physics teacher and a lab technician tipped off students about questions to appear in an A-level exam this year, a court heard yesterday. • The who was important. So was attribution. S-V-O. structure.

18. Good direct leads • Jewelry tycoon Tse Sui-luen’s rags-to-riches story entered its darkest chapter yesterday when a High Court judge declared the self-made company chairman bankrupt. • Who was important. Place was important. Imagery (a bit of a cliché, but sometimes it can work). Time element. S-V-O. structure.

19. Rework leads • The sexual revolution has bypassed Hong Kong, according to a survey showing many men are still looking for passive, good-looking women and women want a man with a big bank balance. • Good approach, but what about this:

20. Reworking leads • Men want passive beauties for mates while women want guys with deep pockets, a new survey says.

21. Assignment • Read student profiles of yourself • Highlight anything inaccurate inred • Add correct information in RED CAPS • Send back to writer and me • Due no later than 9 p.m. Wednesday