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Delayed leads, p. 3

Delayed leads start with a little something to catch the reader's attention, and therefore they delay the real stuff of leads -- the 5W's, the message and the angle.

So they need a "nut graf" -- a paragraph following the attention-grabber that does the heavy lifting. The "nut graf" supplies the 5W's, the message and the angle.

Notice in each of the following examples, how the "nut graf" works. Click on each link (heading) to see an example.


Narrative Lead Uses the techniques of fiction to set the scene, create atmosphere, and otherwise engage the reader.
Contrast Lead Before and after, yesterday vs. today -- these and other contrasts can be colorful.
Staccato Lead It originated as a technique of advertising writing and is now occasionally useful in news writing.
Direct Address Lead With this lead the word "you" is usually the first word in the story -- it tries to grab the reader by the coat lapels to arrest attention.
Quote Lead This is a very useful way to begin a press release that uses the full personality of your lead characters.
Question Lead Readers' curiosity can be aroused with the right question, though this lead can change the tone of your story.
Extra Credit Assignment After you've read the above links about the different types of delayed lead, take this last link to the extra credit assignment and try your hand it it.








Narrative Lead

Reporters love narrative leads -- of course, they'll probably work from their own scenario, not yours -- and you see this sort of thing a lot in today's newspapers. Many of the techniques of fiction can be usefully applied -- a vivid or atmospheric setting, colorful character description, a lively event. Like all leads, it can be more than one paragraph, in addition to the "nut graf" shown here. 

 
         Chris is grinning with satisfaction as 
her computer screen erupts in noisy celebration. 
It's the same happy look she used to wear when 
she wiped out a nest of electro-villains, in 
those video games she used to play.
         But today the challenge is algebra. 
She's getting ahead in her homework, using new 
educational software designed to teach math and 
physics to grades K-12, in a program of free 
online education tools for school systems 
nationwide.
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Contrast Lead

The contrast lead is often written in two parallel paragraphs, one stating the "before," the other the "after". There are many other possible contrasts -- of size, of age, of intensity -- almost any dimension that your subject possesses.

Usually the order is to use the first reference to talk about what your subject is not and the second, just before the lead-in to the "nut graf," to talk about what your subject is , as in the following example. 

 
         Last summer, students aged 7-13 spent on 
average seven hours a week playing video games in 
shopping arcades or on home computers.
         But this fall, those same students may 
spend twice that much time playing video games 
that teach math and physics.
         It's part of a new free online education 
program for grades K-12. The interactive teaching 
games, available at no cost to school systems 
nationwide, are designed to make learning fun.
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Staccato Lead

This is an abrupt spattering of rapid images that creates a context without much syntax -- that is, it appeals at a basic level to our appetite for images, and gets the reader in a frame of mind that will help us communicate our message.

It can be really irritating to editors, and it's important to get to the "nut graf" right away. 

 
         Square roots. Common denominators. 
Quotients and remainders. Some kids just can't 
work up much enthusiasm for the study of math.
         But that may change this fall, when new 
education tools make it possible for students to 
learn math and physics by playing video games.
         It's part of a new free online education 
program for grades K-12. The interactive teaching 
games, available at no cost to school systems 
nationwide, are designed to make learning fun.
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Direct Address Lead

By appealing to the reader head-on, you can often get right to the point of your press release. Or you can go in a more narrative direction, as in the example here.

Be careful that you don't let a direct address lead steer you into the use of advertising-style appeals to your reader. You are writing news, not ad copy. 

 
         You never thought you'd see the day when 
your child volunteered to do extra homework. He's 
already three lessons ahead of his class. Yet 
there he is, begging to stay up another half 
hour, so he can start yet another lesson.
         He's learning long division by playing a 
video game. It's part of a new free online 
education program for grades K-12. The 
interactive teaching games, available at no cost 
to school systems nationwide, are designed to 
make learning fun.
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Quote Lead

The quote lead allows a personality to enter the stage, complete with enthusiasms, opinions, and other influences that you couldn't allow in straight news copy.

Readers like to see those quote marks -- they're a cheery sign that there are people and not just ideas in this story.

Be sure you don't waste the quote. Use the quote to advance the story and convey information, as well as attitude or point of view. 

 
         "It's going to revolutionize the world 
of education as surely as the word-processor 
revolutionized the workplace," says software 
developer Arthur Johnson. "I've seen it change 
some kids from near drop-outs to 'A' students."
         He's talking about a new free online 
education program for studying math and physics 
in grades K-12. The interactive teaching games, 
available at no cost to school systems 
nationwide, are designed to make learning fun.
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Question Lead

This is another lead that reporters like to write, and so it's another reason why you probably should stick with a straight summary lead so the reporter can be the "creative" one. (Actually there are few writing styles more creative than an effective summary lead that conveys the publicist's message combined with a sharp news angle.)

Again, be careful that you don't stray into ad copy when you begin with a question lead. 

 
         Will teachers be the latest profession 
to be automated out of their jobs by computers? A 
new online education system will allow students 
to teach themselves math and physics by playing 
video games.
         The new programs, for use at home and in 
the classroom, are being made avaiable for free 
to school systems nationwide. They are designed 
to make learning fun for students in grades K-12.

Now let's put all this knowledge to work! (Go on to the next page.)
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