By Joanne Stevens, Stevens Media Consulting LTD

OK, that headline is a joke on the old teases like "when sneakers kill..."  I couldn't resist! 

(And please note: I prefer spelling '"lead," for example, '"lead line"as "lede" to avoid confusion in print.)

Our job as journalists is to discover and report news.  If you're anchoring, it's unlikely you've done the discovery but it's certainly your job to know the story so that you can share it with us from a base of intelligence and context.  

We like to start with strong ledes.  The measure of a strong lede is based on good journalism, not on your ability to be clever or glib.  If you want to write for Colbert or Stewart or Letterman, that's great! Their jobs often look like fun but we've chosen to report all the serious stuff before it's converted to wry-ness.

Here's a lede that had me thinking "uh-oh."  The second sentence explained it.  My doppelganger News Coach cop wanted to issue a warning.  Here's the violation:

"The next story could be a jaw-dropper for some.  Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando will soon close the "Jaws" ride for good. "  (Hmm: jaw/jawsdropping.  Maybe I'm losing my sense of humor or appreciation of creativity?)

Sloppy writing can be as perilous as a grizzly.  One morning I woke up to a radio warning that "grizzlies" have been spotted in suburban New Jersey.  Now this could be dangerous but I suspected that a naïve writer thought a "grizzly" was a cute substitute for "bear."  By trying to be folksy, a dangerous, non-indigenous type of bear was substituted for the more benign "black bear."  Please double-check your accuracy if you attempt to be glib. 

My latest, most complex violation came from an anchor who read the lede to his next story: "They say that music can soothe the savage breast."  Please never write "they say."  Who says? Where's the attribution?  (William Congreve: "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.")  The anchor looked awkward and hesitant.  Another reason for always reading your script in advance! 

My advice? If a lede gives you pause to evaluate: knock it out.  A) it's rare that we ever feel 100 percent comfortable with someone else's writing and B) I don’t believe that having to trudge through a wince-worthy lede is written in anyone's contract.  The story was about music therapy for cancer.  The lede was a literal match of sorts but I personally think it was pushing way too hard.     

If you're in a time crunch, or if you believe a story begs for a lede that you just can't come up with, don’t sweat it! You'll never be faulted for writing a short, factual first sentence.  And when it comes to serious stories it's the only way to go.   

 

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Leads

This is the lead sentence from a story from the Associated Press broadcast wire about a new diabetes awareness program in the New Orleans, Detroit and greater Cincinnati areas that uses texting: "Txt 2 lrn ur diabetes risk & how 2 change it." SERIOUSLY!!! It's the broadcast wire - Someone has to read this aloud and the listener isn't going to know how it was typed.

Yes, but...

Regarding Bob's comment: agreed, however the story could also be used on a web site, no? Or does that necessarily need to come from a different wire? (Probably should but does it really happen?)

Regarding the article: AMEN! I didn't realize this kind of clear thinking still existed.

Being a journalist

"Our job as journalists is to discover and report news."

Oh yeah, what planet are you on because it seems to me that 92% of journalists are liberals and believe their job is to exclude, twist, lie and editorialize to affect changing this country into a socialist utopia! JOURNALISM IS DEAD!!!

Rick.....

Try some decaf.