Feature Leads

Journalism/New Media II
MCOM 258
Feb. 16, 20009
 When to use a feature lead…
• The how or why is the focus rather than the
what
• The topic of the story
• When the story is more unusual or interesting
rather than important (breaking news)
• Background information
 Examples of when to use
• Plane crash in Buffalo
– Hard news story
– Hard news summary lead appropriate here
– In-depth story/feature
– Takes a different approach
 Types of feature leads
• Summary—not to be confused with summary
lead for hard news
– Used for shorter stories.
– Different approach
– example
 Anecdotal Lead
• Very common approach to a feature lead
• Writer uses a story or anecdote to capture the
essence of the story
• The anecdotal lead should make the point
simply and clearly
• Example
• Lead is an example of the larger picture
 Narrative Lead
• Presents a story to the reader but it’s longer
than the anecdotal lead
• Has quotes and dialogue to set up a scene
• Example
 Descriptive Leads
• Include details that support the point of the
story
• Can be used in travel stories—stories that
focus on a specific place, person or group
• example
 Question leads
• Pose a question that captures the reader off
guard
• Not the best type of lead for feature stories—
you don’t see them used very often
 Nut Graph
• 3-5 paragraphs down
• Tells us what the story is about
• Ties the lead into the larger picture
• Essential element to your story when you’re
writing a feature lead.
• example
 When writing the feature lead
• Pay attention to detail
• Something in the story should stand out to
you
• What about this helps me understand the
bigger picture?