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Leads A lead is a clear and concise statement that makes up the first paragraph or two of a story and outlines

what the story will cover. It is a summary that tries to address the six basic questions every story should answer: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. It is short, preferably under 30 words. It is a clear and concise road map to the story that keeps the reader from becoming confused as to the subject of the story. It should sum up the important parts of a story but not include every detail. The first step in writing a lead is to determine why the story is important by asking the question who cares? The answer to this question should help you formulate your lead by focusing on the heart of the story. Several basic leads: 1. Immediate ID: Focuses on the who of the six questions and is used when a prominent person is part of the story. 2. Question: Asks a question the story will answer. 3. Anecdotal: An interesting anecdote that illustrates the storys broader point. 4. Summary: A synopsis that provides answers to several of the 5 W and H questions. Common in news stories. Things to avoid: -Dates, times and places (although the day can be used) -Too many numbers -Quotes except on rare occasions -Starting with A, An or The -Unnecessary titles. Describe a person by the title most appropriate to their role in the story, add additional titles if needed later. -First and second person (I, we, me) Things to include: -Who, What, When, Where and sometimes Why and How -Active verbs Bad lead: On Monday, September 24, 2012, six dogs competed in a sitting contest. Good Lead: Half a dozen dogs showed off their talents at a sitting competition Monday.

Lead Exercises Two stories with different leads: Read the two stories and identify the type of lead used in each. A: question and anecdotal. How are the stories similar/different? Which article did you like better and why? Which lead was more interesting? Was it a news, feature or opinion story? Read other stories and underline leads and identify them: Which ones did you like best, which ones worked best, could a different lead have been used for those particular stories? A: Foxcomm- summary; Echols-ancdetol; Iran- Immediate ID Read the following scenarios and write a summary, anecdotal and one other type of lead for each. Underline the one you like best and explain why. Example 1

The football team won Friday's game 17-14. Kicker Dave Smith was tackled after kicking winning field goal. Friday's victory meant the team clinched the league title, and will go to the district playoffs, which begin next week. Score had been tied 14-14 since halftime. Field goal was kicked with 2 seconds remaining on the clock. When tackled, Smith suffered a dislocated ankle. The ankle injury requires surgery. Smith learned Friday morning that he had been awarded a full-tuition football scholarship to Iowa State University.

Example 2

Five counterfeit $20 bills were passed last week at school The United States Secret Service is investigating the case. Two bills were passed at the DECA store, two at the finance window, and one in the cafeteria line. The fact that so many bills were passed in such a short time is evidence of criminal activity, not just coincidence, said the Secret Service. The bills were found to be counterfeit after they were deposited at the Snoqualmie branch of Bank of America. Counterfeiting of bills falls under the Secret Service's jurisdiction. Agents from the Seattle field office responded to the call. DECA adviser Bob Morrissey has educated all student store cashiers how to identify counterfeit bills, and the store will now be using special counterfeit detectors on all bills over $20.

According to Secret Service Agent Moe Monny, "the bills were as sophisticated a forgery as I've seen in my 25 years in the counterfeit division." Monny said the Secret Service believes a student at MSHS passed the bills. "Whether the student is working alone, or is part of a larger crime ring, is something we hope to discover through the course of our investigation," Monny said. The school has to "eat" the loss of $100, as the bank doesn't cover loss due to counterfeit bills. Possession of counterfeit United States obligations (bills) with fraudulent intent is a violation of Title 18, Section 472 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both. Manufacturing counterfeit bills is also a federal crime, punishable by a fine and up to 15 years, or both. Source for scenarios Susan Fergueson

Interview Tips How to prepare: Try to perform an interview in the subjects natural environment. Meet an artist at their studio, a runner at their practice track, a chef in their kitchen. Know what you need from the interview: Have you already asked most of your questions by phone and now you are simply looking for a little color for the story? Or do you need to do an in depth interview? Research the subject in advance and formulate the questions you need answered. Always include basics like name, age, occupation, relationship, children and residence. Bring a recorder and a notebook. Dress appropriate to the subject. If you are hanging out at a homeless shelter dress in jeans and tennis shoes, if you are interviewing a banker wear a button down shirt and nice pants or skirt and top. At the interview Write the subjects name and show it to them so they can correct the spelling if needed. Get the subjects contact information for follow-up questions. Start with small talk to make them comfortable. Have them show you around their office, home, studio and look for revealing details that you can use. Hone your observational skills by jotting down basic details like the subjects outfit, hair color, mannerisms. As your subject answers a question prepare the follow up question in your head. Nod or say yes every once in a while to let them know you are listening and engaged. Revisit a question if it wasnt answered to your satisfaction Keep taking notes even after the official interview is over, people often say the best things then. Ask why they care about the particular issue you are interviewing them about. Ask if there is anything they would like to add that you didnt already cover.

Exercise: Pair off into subject and journalist. The subject is the mother or father of a young child recently struck and killed by a driver. You have already spoken with the cops and have the general details of the accident which are listed below. The interview with the parent is your chance to humanize the subject. The parent should feel free to create their character and that of Michele, filling in details. It is the interviewers job to unearth these details. Michele, age 6, was in the crosswalk with her babysitter, Amber Carter, at Cedar and Rose in San Rafael Monday at 6:36 p.m. when a blue ford pickup struck her. Michele was taken to University Hospital with serious injuries. She died on route. Amber was not hurt. Police are looking for the driver of the pickup, described as being a medium size man in his 30s. Now reverse the roles and do the exercise again. What questions did you ask? What should have asked? Where were Michele and her babysitter going? Was this their usual routine or out of the ordinary? What is the parents name, age, occupation, where do they live? Is Michele an only child? What was Michele like, her favorite toys, foods, friends? How long had the babysitter been with the family? How is she doing? What would you say to the person who did this? What would you say to anyone who might have seen this or have information about it? Where was parent when this happened? How did they hear about it? Using what you discovered in your interview plus the information from the cops, write a short story using the inverted pyramid model.

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