Structuring a News Story, Pt. 1 - The Lede

We already talked about the lede (also spelled "lead"). The lede is the introduction to a news story, and it contains the most important information in the story. It is also the hook of the story, and so it should make the reader want to read on. It is usually the first paragraph of the story, though it can be as short as one sentence and as long as two short paragraphs.

In classical journalism, the lede includes the five W's and the one H:

• Who
• What
• Where
• Why
• When
• How

This is, however, somewhat old-fashioned and outdated. Today most ledes only include some of that information. When writing your lede, you should think about which of those types of information are most important for the story that you are telling.

Here are some example ledes. The first set is taken from recent headlines. These ledes are from hard news stories, they are very straightforward, and they make sure to include the essential information:

• "Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans held by rebels in Colombia have been rescued by the Colombian military." --From BBC News, which puts its ledes in boldface.
• "A Palestinian man has driven a bulldozer into a bus and several cars in Jerusalem, killing three people, before being shot dead." --From BBC News
• "A 19-year-old man suspected of killing a Prince George's County police officer was strangled in the county jail two days after his arrest, the state medical examiner's office concluded yesterday." --From the Washington Post
  

The next example is also from a straight news story, but it is a little more catchy and imaginative, if less informative:

• "Jason Lezak broke his American record in the 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday, then lost it before he could catch his breath." --From the New York Times

The last examples are from features, and they are examples of ledes with little information, but which are written with the intention of getting the reader hooked:

• "The best burrito in town is Chinese." --From a food review I wrote.
  
• "Black black black, black, black black, black black, dead." --From an art feature I wrote.

In summary, the two aspects of a good lede are:

1. The essential information. If the reader only reads the lede, he or she should usually be able to understand the story on its most basic level.
2. The hook. Ideally the lede is also interesting enough to get the reader hooked so that he or she wants to read on, hopefully until the end of the article.

In-Class Exercise:
Below is a list of information for a news story. Use the essential information to write a lede.

• Maria is 14 years old.
• Maria is top in her class.
• Gloria won second place at the county swim meet.
• Maria won the county swim meet.
• Maria’s parents are doctors.
• Gloria almost won, but Maria passed her at the end.
• Maria set the county record for the 2-kilometer race.
• Maria goes to Greenland high school.
• Gloria won first place last year.

When you are done, please post your lede in the comments section of this blog post!