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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really liked how you incorporated the examples into your explanation. They helped get across the principle of a lede dictating the type of story that is being reported.
ReplyDelete