A good Lead makes a good Story

Leads are vital when it comes to writing stories.

A lead introduces the reader to the topic that will be discussed in the story.

Normally, leads will tell the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of the story.

Leads are usually one sentence, that is packed with information about the story that will be told.

Every word in a lead is usually very important, and are worked and rewritten over and over until they convey the correct message, including all of the information necessary.

Leads should be used to gain attention from readers, as well as provide them with the information they need in order to understand the story being told.

Story Leads

The lead is the most vital element to a news story; it is the head on the body.

A typical lead will provide the reader with the five key elements to a story; the who, what, where, when, and how.

However, a lead is not simply a list, but a beefy information packed sentence that tells you exactly what you are going to be reading in the following article.

Leads will also dictate the aim of the story, and why it is something you should read.

Take for instance a report about a budget at a university. One article may attempt to tell of how the budget is generated and from what facets, while another may aim to report on how that same money is used; same subject, different aims.

The other important purpose of the lead is to set the tone and delivery of the story. A successful lede will often reflect the type of news that the article is about.

For example, a crime related or breaking story will have a harder, news-like delivery to it, while a profile or feature might sound more like the opening to a story.

Regardless of the type of story, a lead must intrigue the reader, pulling them into the story.

Without a proper head, the body cannot function.

Strong Leads = Strong Stories

The lead of the story is possibly one of the most important parts of the story because it is the part that will either keep readers interested or will cause them to lose the story.

 

Once the reader reads the title of the story they kind of know what it’s going to be about. So once they get interested enough to read the first few lines.

 

It is important to give the information that they are looking for but to also intrigue them to want to know everything else that the story has to offer.

 

According to the “Telling the Story” a good lead answers the basic questions of the story. Like, who is the story about? Where did the story take place? What happened? And why what happened, happened.

 

The majority of these questions need to be answered in order for the lead to be strong and effective. The most important thing that needs to be addressed in the lead, is the “so what” factor.

 

People want to know what matters to them, so in the lead that question should be answered.  This will ultimately keep the interest and allow the reader to want to read it until the end.

Lead-er of the pack

The lead of a news article is maybe the most important part of the entire story. It is the part of the article that gets the reader interested in what the author has to say.

A good lead usually answers the questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. The answering of these questions is what sets up the tone for an article and most of the time shows what kind of a story this is going to be.

There are two major kinds of leads that a writer can start an article with. The first kind is a hard news lead. This is where the first sentence is told in a serious tone, answers all 6 questions, and sets up the article to be overall serious.

The second kind of story is a soft news lead. This is where the writer uses creativity to make the article flow and appeal to the reader, not necessarily answering all the questions but letting the reader know that this story is going to have a lighter tone.

A typical lead is generally 25 words or less. Those 25 words can sometimes be the difference between a flop or a successful piece of journalism.

Why Leads are important

A lead is possibly the most important part of any story. Since it is the first thing that the reader sees it is necessary to have a lead that is informative and attention grabbing so as to interest the reader.

In order to interest a reader there are two types of leads that one can write depending on the story. The types of leads can either be a hard lead or a soft lead. For instance, a hard lead is one that gives an overview of the story, while a soft lead is one that starts the story off in a much more creative way to catch the readers attention.

A good lead must answer six basic questions to start: The who, what, where, when, why and how. These questions are necessary to answer in the lead to grab the readers attention and so the reader has information about the story to being with. If the writer fails to answer these questions in the lead then the reader may become uninterested in the writers story and decide that their story is not worth their time.

The importance of a good Lead.

A good lead for any news report contains up to six pieces of crucial information in usually one or two sentences. Assuming all the information has been acquired, the lead should answer six questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? The lead then directs to the ultimate question of So What?

The relevance of the story is developed in the lead, and often determines how it is written. There are many approaches to a lead.

Certain stories, like a new development require a hard lead opposed to a soft lead for a light story.

It is important to think about the target audience you are addressing when writing a lead. One good way to emphasize the importance for the reader is using a “you” lead.

Overall, the purpose of a lead is to grab the reader’s attention with the facts and a summary of the story, and draw them to read into the details and importance of the entire story.

Why leads are crucial

Which of the following sentences would hook you in when you grab the morning paper tomorrow?

A) An elderly man died when he fell through the ice this morning at Walden Pond.

Or

B) A hat lay next to a gaping hole in the ice covering Walden Pond -- all that was left after a plunge into the frigid winter waters left an elderly dog-walker dead this morning.

Sure, both get the story across, and one may read either with equal interest...yet B clearly is aimed at hooking the reader in using dramatic dialogue.

Hooks are even more important the less "exciting" the topic is. For example, if the reporter is covering a presidential assassination it’s pretty hard to lose the audience's interest. They're going to listen to you or read your story without hesitation.

If the story is about a dog that saved its owner by speed-dialing 911, the reporter will use a clever lead to attract the reader’s attention.
Leads may become the most important component of a reporter's repertoire and his or her success in the industry.

The impact of numbers

Numbers are crucial to any reporter's work. This is an understatement.

A story with no numbers included will not only hold less information, but will leave the reader with far too many questions. The goal of a good newsstory is to inform the audience of all necessary information (and then some) so that they are well-informed and have no glaring questions such as, "HOW MANY people died in the fire??" "HOW MANY inches of snow are expected tomorrow morning?" or "HOW MANY lions escaped from the zoo?"...you get the picture.

It is simply a no-brainer and a job-saver for reporters to include as many numbers as possible in their reports so that those questions are never pondered (or yelled outloud) by the reader, watcher, or listener.

The essence of a profile

A reported utilizes a profile to highlight an element of his or her story.

They may choose to include a profile of a person, place, or event involved in the story, in order to educate the reader so that their work is more appreciated.

A well-researched and crafted profile may make a story all that more interesting. It shows not only hard work and effort on the reporter's part but also creates a more intimate story.

For example, if a report on local farmers market included a detailed profile on the contributors and where they came from/their history, it would demonstrate that extra step that the reporter took to ensure that the audience was more than simply educated - they were intrigued.

A good profile will go beyond the who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Important Ledes

A lede needs certain things in order for it to be good. When writing a lede, the journalist should make it interesting so that it captures the reader’s attention. Ledes are defined as the introductions to news stories, so they are very important. They are usually the first sentence of the article. Some ledes are creative or funny. Other ledes might be sad or tragic. Few ledes can be terrifying, and most ledes are very informative.

The lede should make the reader want to keep reading the story. A lede should include the answers to important questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and how. Sometimes, the questions so what? and who cares? are answered in a lede also. A lede is usually one sentence, and in some cases, two sentences. Depending on the story, it could be difficult to write a lede sometimes. Fitting all of the important information in one sentence can be hard. Ledes are different depending on where the story is getting published. For an example, a story on the Internet may have a different lede than a story in a newspaper. Ledes have to be one of the most important things for an article to have.

Aim to Intrigue: How to Formulate a Good Lead

The lead is generally the most important component of any article. Not only does the lead set the tone for the entire feature, but it also gives the reader an overall summary of the story to follow.

Most good leads answer six basic questions -- who, what, when, where, why, and how.

It is a good idea to avoid leads longer than 30 to 35 words and contain it to one sentence, while still answering as many of these questions as possible.

Writers must look at the scenario as a whole before formulating a lead. Before writing, the correspondent should ask himself, "how can I convey this message in the most intriguing way possible?". Does the writer want to use a straight summary lead, a dramatic single-item lead, a delayed identification lead, a creative lead or will he use a different approach?

Leads are very case-sensitive and each story needs a lead that matches the article.

Ledes are Crucial

A well written lead is to the point, concise, and interesting.

A good lead should answer when possible the six basic questions of a story, who? what? when? where? why? and how? These are the questions that need to be answered so that the readers can fully understand the story.

Lead’s are the most important because they are what either draws the reader in to read further to makes them stop completely.

They can either be written in one fairly long well written sentence or it can be broken up into two separate sentences that answer the six essential questions.

Without them your reader will be unclear as to what the rest of the article will be covering, making them the most important part.

What Makes A Good Lead?

A good lead will capture the audience and make them want to read more of the story. It is important to grab the audience’s attention quickly because they will move on if the lead is not interesting.

There is the direct news lead and the delayed news lead. The direct news lead tells the audience up front what is happening in the story. It tells the audience the most important facts, such as the who, what, where, and why of the story. The delayed news lead does not state up front what is happening. The delayed lead could start with a quote or something else.

The most important item of a good news lead is a significant detail. Putting as much information into one or two, clear sentences is essential to writing a good lead.

Numbers are Needed

Numbers can be crucial in certain stories.

Depending on their usage they can divulge valuable information to your reader and make a story more comprehensible.

Numbers are also useful in backing up what you have previously said by using a statistic.

Numbers are also useful when trying to convey the importance of an event your covering. For example you can talk and report on the biggest game of the season, but when you say that the stands were packed with over 200 fans it really drives that point home.

Numbers seem like a very basic element however they become much greater when you think of how difficult a story would be to write without them.

Profiling

Profiling a person or story is vital to a well written story.

A properly written profile will provide your reader with the most relevant and necessary information for understanding the story.

Profiles are also extremely helpful to the journalist as well because with an excellent profile of a person it allows then to ask more in depth questions to elicit a better response.

With easier access to the internet, and with social networking sites it is much easier for journalists the get the information they need to conduct a proper interview.

Profiling is a necessary tool for the world of journalism.

Writing a Good Lead

A lead is a simple, clear statement consisting of the first paragraph of two of an inverted-pyramid story according to Telling the Story by the Missouri Group.

A good lead answers the questions who, what, when, where, why and how.

Those six questions tell the reader what they are going to read about.

If the journalist has written a successful lead it should interest the reader so they will want to continue reading.

Some leads also answer the questions so what and what’s next to expand on the information given and give more detail to the reader so the reader will be more interested.

According to the book, Telling the Story, a good lead has fewer than 25 words unless the lead is more than one sentence.

The lead is the most important part of the article and if the lead is poorly written, you risk the reader not having any interest and reading a different article instead of yours.

What makes a good lede?

A good lead consists of five essential components: who, what, where, when, why, and how. It is important to have most of these five components in your lede because it is going to tell your audience what the article is going to be about and it is going to grab their attention.

The lede is the first thing your audience will read before they get to the article. Therefore, you have to put as much information in the lead as you can because it will make the readers want to read the story. Without a lead, the audience will not know what your article is about and will become uninterested.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers!

Numbers are a part of a news story that adds fact and credibility to what a journalist is writing.

In news stories, numbers are used as a way to add fact and validity to what is being said.

Numbers also play a key role in addressing how important a story is. For example, two murder stories may sound similar at first, but when it becomes known that one involved the murder of a single person, and the other was a mass slaughter of 30, it makes a situation even more shocking and dire than what may have initially been implied.

The Essence of Profiling

Maintaining a good profile is crucial in being a good news writer.

When a journalist decides to do a profile on another individual, it is necessary to make sure first that all the facts are correct. If someone reads your profile, and the first sentence is wrong, your credibility as a writer has already suffered terrible damage and the reader may already put your work down, and this is a sign of failure as a journalist.

Another key part of profiling is to be unbiased. A profile is supposed to be a accurate description of an individual without any other qualities brought into question.

Why do numbers matter in writing stories?

Numbers are important in writing stories because they show size and impact. The number of people a story affects usually depicts the magnitude of coverage it will receive. For example, the extreme number of people who died in the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center affected many people, the city of New York, and the entire world with implications of war coming from it, so it had global coverage for weeks. However, if a single person dies, who is not a notable celebrity, a simple obituary in a local paper will be enough coverage because it affects a far smaller number of people.

What makes a good profile?

Preparation is the key to creating a good profile. In preparation, a reporter must thoroughly research the person they are profiling and dig deep into facts. This research should include interviewing, and getting to the know the person. Getting to know the person does not just mean getting the facts either, it also is knowing how he/she is real life, and how he/she acts. Once you see that, you combine in with the information you have been researching, through former articles, stories, and information, and generate an accurate profile of the person. Overall, preparation is what makes a good profile.

What makes a good lead

Writing good leads takes time, development and practice. A good lead usually answers the questions, who, what, when, where and how. Most of the time this can be done within the first, or even second sentence.

The “so what” or “what’s next” usually comes after that, where one can expand on what they have just written. A good lead is one that gives a clear and concise statement that pulls the reader into the story and where the reader can get the most important information first.

A good lead must be one that keeps the readers interested and that deals with important stories that people will want to read. Stories such as a local house fire are much more interesting than a story such as a city counsel meeting.

A good lead is also should be able to spark the “interest among readers.” When answering the “so what” or the “what’s next,” the lead must be able to go into more detail to be able to keep the reader interested.

If the lead is not as powerful than one can expect people to brush right over the whole story and look for a more interesting story line or another article.

A Good Lead is Crucial

A lead, which is the first statement of an article, should be simple, clear, and to the point. It is a basic journalism skill that is not only easily recognized by writers but also by readers.

When writing an article in the inverted pyramid style, the lead is where the writer determines the relevance, usefulness, and interest among the readers, the three ways journalists summarize news. Writers also have to figure out the “so what” and “who cares” for the readers.

To determine this, the author needs to include the who, what, when, where, why and how. The most important information should be included right away, detail and quotes can follow later.

Sometimes, the why and/or how are not as important as the who, what, when, and where.

For example, if tonight’s breaking news is a plane crash, people would want to know which plane crashed, when it crashed, where it crashed, and who was on it right away. People would also want to know how many were recorded dead, missing, or injured and if there were any survivors.

Although the why and how are important, they don’t absolutely need to be included in the first sentence. The why and how can wait until the second sentence.

Is Profiling Necessary?

Profiling is an important step in the process of writing a story for a journalist. A profile can be on a specific topic, event, or person. The profile can be used within the story itself to help strengthen it, or it can be used as a tool to help write the story.

At least a small profile of the person or event is important to include within the story because it gives background information so the audience will understand what is happening.

When a profile is completed before an interview it allows the journalist to ask more in-depth, prepared questions. Not only will the journalist get a good interview, they will seem more impressive because they prepared.

Profiling is not difficult because of the many media resources around us. The internet, books, newspapers, and television are all readily available for journalists and the profiling process is made easier.

The internet makes profiling even easier because people are more willing to share personal information about themselves. People are constantly writing their opinions and what they are doing for the day online. Journalists just need to search for names and topics and then they have an abundance of information.

Writing a Good Lead

A lead is the most important aspect of an article. It tells the audience how the story is relevant, useful, and interesting to them. The lead is always located at the very beginning of an article and it should be very simple and clear.

The six basic questions of Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? are needed to be answered for a lead to be “good.” The most important information first is set up as the inverted pyramid. This conveys what is most important and the tone of the article.

There are a few different ways to write a lead. The “you” lead is writing in a way that makes the news relevant to the reader. The “Immediate Identification” lead is a way of drawing people in by the famous names in a story. The “delayed-identification” lead is leaving the names towards the end because they are not famous.

A Summary lead is simply summarizing the story in the lead, and the Multiple- Element lead is a way to work more information into the first paragraph. No matter what type of lead you choose to write with, you must always include the most important information in the lead.

Numbers helpful or distracting

It is really easy for Journalist to overuse numbers, to the point of making a reader feel lost.

Not to say that numbers are not helpful, for instance they can display dates, times, percentages, amounts, and identification.

It is up to the journalist to decide whether it is truly important to use numbers over words. If the numbers are not tactically helpful than they probably should not be used.

It is hard to remember numbers, and a reader can easily get lost in numbers. It sometimes helpful to say, "enough people to fill and entire football field", a description instead of a 50,000 people.

Context is necessary as well, for instance 5 million dollars is a lot for a person to have, but that number would seem extremely small if we were talking about the national budget.

Dates are simple and easy, however if you say in 2003 such and such happened, you may want to say seven years ago because it has a bigger impact.

Profiling, why its necessary

In order for Journalist to have a complete story a profile of the person or topic is a must, not only to provide necessary facts but also because profiling is the start and guides a journalist’s research.

A profile helps strengthen a story, but is can also be used prior to even writing a story.

If you do an accurate profile on a person involved in an event prior to the interview, you can ask much more personal questions. Questions you know will get a great response to.

A profile is also necessary to be written into a story, this way the reader can accurately understand what type of person the story revolves around.

It is important to put the reader in the shoes of the person or event your writing about.

Today research for profiling is easier than in the past, using the internet sites like Facebook give a quick skeleton of a person.

There is even a good chance that person has their own blog they write. With sights with twitter you may even be able to find out where that person is at that exact moment.


There is even a good chance that person has their own blog they write. With sights with twitter you may even be able to find out where that person is at that exact moment.

Numbers in Journalism

The purpose of numbers in journalism is to help the reader understand the facts of the story, and the importance of it.

Numbers are used to show statistics, and they are also used to show the readers why the story matters to them. For instance, if a reader sees a headline that reads something to the effect of “120,000 People Died in the Haiti Earthquake”, they will realize the magnitude of the tragedy, and they are more likely to want to read more about it.

Numbers are especially helpful in articles where statistics are needed, and they are used frequently in political stories. For instance, newspapers frequently run stories that will say something to the effect of “Obama’s Approval Rating at 60%”. When a reader sees that headline, he will likely read the story to try to figure out why his approval rating has either gone up or down, and why it is at that number.

Numbers help grab the readers attention and they also help the reader understand the impact that the story has. In class, we rewrote one lead that described how the United States tested a bomb with the equivalent of 150,000 tons of tnt. When readers see a number as large as 150,000, it grabs their attention and makes the story more interesting to them.

Profiling

When a journalist "profiles" an interviewee, they are sharing background information about the persons personal lives.

Profiling the person being interviewed is very important while trying to get a story across.

In order to profile an interviewee, the journalist must do a lot of research on the individual.

This includes, but is not limited to, asking about family history, their childhood, and their lifestyle.

The journalist is also expected to do some of their background research, either online or in the newspapers.

It is necessary to have this background information in order for the reader to fully connect with the story by understanding the person being interviewed.

Successful profiling is important in a news story.

Without it, a reader is less likely to be interested in following a story, and, therefore, is less likely to read it an article on it.

Numbers in News

Numbers hold a hugely important role in reporting the news, so it is best as a journalist that you can use them effectively to report the news clearly and accurately.

When used properly number are a readers best friend, but use them wrong and it will have the reader confused and upset.

Numbers are used for things such a statistics, and charts. Numbers can be the most important part of the story and need to be used properly.

When someone reads, "people were injured in car crash today", that doesn't give the reader any good information, rather one should write, "5 people injured in car crash today.

Numbers add to a stories credibility, and gives it a factual feel.

Numbers in a story

According to Telling the Story by The Missouri Group, “Journalists have a responsibility to understand numbers so that they are able to report clearly and accurately on everything from courts to schools.”

When Numbers are included in a news story they can be useful sometimes but depending on the circumstance numbers can be extremely confusing to the reader.

It may be difficult for the reader to remember numbers in a story and be able to comprehend what the story is actually saying.

On the other hand numbers can be very effective when comparing data or explaining poll results.

Numbers are also useful when assisting a story; it helps the reader put the narrative into perspective.

A good example is the one that Kathleen Kiely used in her post; “Many people were at the beach today” might not be so effective.

However if a reporter were to say, “Over 500 people were at the beach today,” readers would be able to visually see that number.

Profiling

The profile is one of the most important parts of a story.

The interviewer or reporter must be thoroughly prepared in order to have a successful profile.

The journalist must do a lot of research on the subject; they must have plenty of background.

A bonus to the profile is if you add quotes and detail about the person.

The most important part of the profile is that it is an accurate representation of the person and it includes information about the person.

Also, no matter what the topic is that you may reporting on, the journalist must include relevant information.

For example, if a journalist is reporting on Sarah Greyer, a survivor of a house fire, you wouldn’t include that she has had a bad experience of relationships in the past.

However, in the story the journalist must incorporate that Sarah Greyer has had a few experiences with arson in the past.

Numbers in a News Story

Numbers in a news story are difficult to use because they can sometimes confuse readers. When multiple statistics and numbers are used in a story it can be difficult for the reader to remember and sometimes comprehend the numbers.

Numbers are used to make a point. They are effective when comparing sets of data, or showing how much of something in the news story happened. However, if numbers are just thrown into the news story for as after thoughts and are not carefully placed, then the story becomes sloppy and the reader will not understand what the reporter is trying to say.

Although numbers can be dangerous to use in a story, they can also be used effectively. The numbers can give the reporter more credibility. If a reporter were to say, “Many people were at the beach today,” readers will think that it is hot and there are a lot of people at the beach; however, if the reporter says, “Over 500 people were at the beach today!” readers know that there really was a LOT of people at the beach today. Numbers can assist the story.

numbers numbers

Although numbers can be difficult to keep strait sometimes they can only add depth to a story.

They can help the reader to visualize and understand the story.  Numbers are necessary.

However you can over use numbers, if to many numbers are use the story can be hard to follow and confuse the reader.

When numbers are used correctly to set a scene such as “there where 500 people are Mr. Jack’s birthday party”, can help the reader to better image where the story is taking place.

Statistics can also help make a story better by adding factual, solid information.

The writer must be sure that they are consistent when using number’s in their stories.

 

 

Profile

When a journalist is doing a profile is it extremely important that they get it accurately.

They should spend time with the person they are profiling.

A journalist should also do research on the subject and the subjects history. They should also read articles and books that have been writing by or about the person they are profiling.

Maybe find something really interesting about their past that they can elaborate on during the interview.

This can help the journalist create a good set of questions that will help the reader get to know the person you are profiling.

It is important that the journalist covers all angles in a profile. 

Numb3rs

Numbers can be tricky when writing a news story because they can be hard for a reader to keep track of.

However, numbers are vital to putting a news story into perspective.

The proper use of numbers in journalism gives the reader an idea of the magnitude of an event, for example a budget change, and places the event in proportion.

Numbers are also helpful for illustrating change and the speed, or rate, at which it takes place.

Credibility is also helped by the use of numbers. For example, the difference between saying, “Our debt has gone up a bit” sounds less important than saying “Our debt has risen 13%”.

A successful news story will use numbers sparingly, but will not get caught up in them.

Profiles

A good profile is very important for any journalist to obtain. What makes a good profile is one that has information about a person that is accurate and has a lot of background information. A good profile is one that must be checked by more then one source as to make sure there are no discrepancies.

It is very important for the journalist to not just report the good about their target person, but also the bad about them. Nothing should be left out of a profile because if it is then it could compromise the credibility of the journalist.

Importance of Numbers

Numbers in stories are extremely important. They are important because they provide credibility and solid information to any story. Numbers provide evidence about information that one is putting forth. They provide more credibility then saying something more unspecific, such as "a bunch."

As a reader I personally look for numbers because it provides a much more solid base of information then just having to take the writers word for their piece. Though numbers can be used in a negative way if they are used in excess, if there are too many numbers then it could take away from the overall story and possibly distract the reader for the information one is trying to relay.

Profile of a news profile

The first and probably most obvious thing a reporter needs when writing a profile story is the “who”.

However, unlike most stories, a profile story cannot just indentify the subject it must provide background information on why this person matters to us; something to make the reader want to know about this person.

Your research will also help you to hone your questions to really get at who this person is.

When you do meet the person for an interview pay attention not only to their words but to their mannerisms and body languages; a great deal can be learned about a person simply based on how they act.

In short: do your research, know your delivery, and focus on the person.

Profiles in Journalism

Profiles are definitely something that reporters want to get accurate. When dealing with someone that your going to do a profile on, its important to do background information, and research of the person.

Spending time with the person that is going to be profiled helps because it allows the reader to see what they are like and can help them better communicate to the readers a true view on the person.

And because the subject is a person, its even more important to get it right. If there are mistakes in the profile and the subject sees the mistake, it puts a lot at risk for the journalist.

Magic Numbers

Numbers in stories are very important. It not only adds credibility to the story but it also specifies the abstract.

It makes the statement more powerful when it has a number on it.  When using words that relate to numbers like, “a lot” or “many”, people have different interpretations of what those numbers are. 

“Many” to some people might not be the same to others so in some cases, numbers are necessary.

However it is not good to use numbers a lot in stories because it can confuse the readers. When using a lot of numbers in the story, people can lose the point of the article ad be hung up on the numbers themselves.

Easy as 123

Numbers are an important part of writing stories because they are data. Whether they are representing the price of gas, the number of deaths in a car accident or the percentage of underage students consuming alcohol, they are stating a fact.

Always be consistent when writing with numbers, but the simplest way to represent a long number is the best. It would be difficult to misinterpret the reading of number, therefore showing their importance. Too many numbers will often times lessen the readers interest in the article or story.

Profiling; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Doing a profile on someone requires some background work. The reporter should be well prepared before jumping into an interview. It is important to do research and reading on the person or institution being profiled. Once you are educated, you are equipped to create a good profile.

A good profile consists of a detailed outline in short sentences or phrases. A profile should be full of strong words and interesting facts of the person or institution, but it is important to cover all aspects in the profile. The good, the bad and the ugly should be brought out in the personal profile.

What Good Profiles Have

A profile is very important. When you are interviewing someone for their profile, you should take down any interesting facts about the person.

Interesting facts would make a profile more interesting and fun to read, especially if it includes something that no one has ever known before. This can make more people want to view a profile that you have written!

Many people might not like to read a profile if it is only a boring biography. However, a good profile should also have important facts about a person, too. Sometimes, a good profile is a profile that readers can relate to.

Important Numbers

There are many important things that a story needs.

One of these things includes numbers.

They can give the reader an idea of how many people are affected by something, such as a disease like AIDS.

It is also important for people to know how long a person’s sentence will be for committing a crime.

Numbers are also a type of proof that something happened, because as Telling the Story puts it, numbers are always true.

When someone reads a story, the numbers make the story more interesting.

Something else that numbers do is make a story more believable.

2 Many Numb3rs?

Articles with too many numbers often confuse readers or simply discourage them from reading the article at all. But, often, numbers are necessary in an article, for example; when stating a death count or reporting about prices.

A journalist would never write, "Gas prices spiked today, adding thirty-four cents to the average price, raising the cost per gallon to two dollars sixty-five cents." Here, written numbers are necessary.

When reporters are working with a lot of numbers, they generally only put the essential ones into their written account. It is up to the reporter to figure out which numbers will be used to catch the readers eye (i.e. large numbers or numbers that are far from average), and which numbers can be left out.

Many people find it hard to focus on words when there are scores of numbers floating around on the page. It is a good idea to put a lot of space between the numbers reported and to always explain what the numbers signify.

Focus Yourself.. and Your Profile

Journalists are often encouraged to really get to know the subjects they are interviewing. It is the job of a journalist to ask questions that fully capture enough information to create a good profile. The reporter must always stay professional and must always be prepared.

To compose a good profile, the reporter must arrange a solid set of interview questions, do research on the person they are interviewing, and familiarize themselves with whichever subject they are covering. If a journalist rushes into an interview without being ready and prepared, they may aggravate the individual being interviewed and be asked to leave -- or the interview could simply be cut short.

Being prepared and willing to listen are the most important steps in creating a good profile. Always be attentive, concentrate, and take notes. Taking notes when necessary will only strengthen your profile as you draw pertinent quotes from the interview to use in your exposition.

Profile Writing

Writing a profile can be demanding but pays off in the long run. A good reporter needs to take detailed notes and needs to know how to interview people correctly. Also one needs to have good interviewing skills.

In order to be prepared one must research the person that they are about to profile and read up on whomever they are they are about to interview.

If one does not properly profile some they could effectively lose their job or worse, become known as the person who is not prepared. This could lead to an immediate dismissal of their job.

Numbers and News

In the news industry, numbers can play an important role. They can also hinder and push readers away from an article or a story.

They can make the story more intense by adding to the information or by catching the readers eye or there can be too many numbers in an article which might cause the readers to want to read something less complicated.

Numbers can also be very informative when constructing specific stories such as outlining how many people have died. This can be useful to not only the public, but it can also help rescue agencies such as police and fire in estimating how many people sill could be alive or have died.

Numbers Matter

When writing an article, numbers can be a very important part of the story. Numbers can allow the reader to understand the information better. Numbers can make the story more important or more intense. They will catch your eye and will want you to read more.

Numbers are also helpful for understanding the information and can help move a story along. By reading numbers, readers can feel as if they can believe what they are reading.

Good Profile

Writers have to be prepared in order to write a good profile and is important to the person being profiled. The reporter has to make sure they do a good job because a bad profile can possibly ruin their reputation.

In order to make a good profile, a reporter has to be prepared, like I stated before. The reporter should research who he/she is profiling (reading articles, conducting interviews, etc). This is important because the reporter has to write correct information in the article, they can't just make things up.

By being prepared, a reporter will do a better job at profiling because they will be writing the correct information.

What makes a good lead?

A good lead is a simple, clear statement that answers the six basic questions and is readable.
The six basic questions that need to be answer are the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Once you have figured out those, and included them in your lead, it is time to figure out the so what. The so what addresses why this story is important. For example, a story written about a mugging that occurred in a bad city would not be big news. However, if it had occurred in a crime-free suburban town it could be big news. To go along with answering the six questions, it shows that in that example where was important. Who could be important if it is a big name, along with when if it's a big day etc. In answering these questions, you must make sure it is clear and concise. It is not necessarily the smartest idea to put all of these things into one sentence. A good lead many times is broken up into two, more readable sentences. Overall, a good lead is clear and concise, offers all the answers to the six questions, and grabs the readers attention to read the rest of the article.

The Perfect Lead

A good lead grabs the readers’ attention from the first second. The lead has all the information you need to know about the article right there in the first sentence.

For each article there are six questions that can be asked: who, what, where, when, why, and how. If the answers to these questions are all in the lead of the story then that lead is a success.

The lead provides the reader with a quick synopsis of the article and if intriguing enough the reader will want to read on in order to get the full details.

There are many different types of leads, depending on which kind of story you would like to write. There’s the “you” lead, the inverted pyramid lead, the immediate-identification lead, the delayed-identification lead, the summary lead, and the multiple-element lead.

To make each of these types of leads a good lead you have to grab the audiences’ attention right off the bat. The readers quickly look at the first few sentences of an article before they decide to continue reading or to move onto the next one.

A good lead can make all the difference in how many people read your article. By having all the information for a quick overview of the article in the lead the readers will have an idea of what the full article is about and choose to read on.

Source: Telling the Story: The Convergence of Print, Broadcast, and Online Media by The Missouri Group

What Can Make A Profile Great?

Writing a profile is a big deal. The writer of the profile has a big task on their hands. In order to create the best profile possible, they have to be extremely prepared.

The writer needs to do whatever it takes to get prepared. Whether it be reading past books or articles the person being profiled has written or finding out biographical information. The writer can also speak with colleagues or family members that the person may be close with in order to get additional information.

The knowledge you have before going into an interview is essential to how well the profile will turn out in the end. The key to a good profile is to be prepared.

Numbers Matter

Numbers can be a very important part of a story. They allow the reader to understand the information in more depth rather than just having words.

Specific articles uses numbers more often than others. Sports articles are one of them. Sports writers use numbers to share the scores, times, distances, or positions with the audience.

Without this information the reader may know the Indianapolis Colts lost the Super Bowl, but they may not know by how much.

Another reason why numbers are so important is because they can allow you to visualize the situation. For example, if a story says that Pennsylvania received 4 feet of snow last week, the reader will understand the severity of that particular snowstorm.

Writing with Numbers

I know when I read a story in the news, I am much more intrigued by a story with numbers. Numbers are there to make the story more intense, and a journalist only included numbers when they are necessary.

Numbers are eye catching. If I see a story with the title, “15 people killed in car accident”, I’m definitely going to read that story opposed to the story with the title, “car accident on MA highway.”

Too many numbers can be confusing to the reader, so journalists need to make sure the numbers are decisive and small enough to comprehend.

A Good Profile

A profile is obviously extremely important to the person being profiled. If the reporter doesn’t do a good job and the profiled person has a lot of complaints, the reporter could ruin his or her reputation.

To make a good profile, a reporter must be extremely prepared. Knowing about the person is crucial. Reading articles and interviews with the person to be profiled can be helpful. It’s definitely important to get a firsthand account of this person’s life from people who know him or her.

By coming prepared, the reporter can feel more at ease with the profiled because he or she knows what to expect.