Types of Lead

The opening of a news story - usually the first paragraph - is termed "the lead."The lead is the most important part of any newspaper story, because the reader usually decides whether to continue reading based on the lead. As a writer, we have to persuade the reader to stick with us. As a result, newspaper writers naturally struggle with their leads. The lead is also called as  “nut graph”, is a sentence or paragraph identifying the focus of the story.  

An 18-year-old  Mariappan high school student was killed late Wednesday when his  bicycle  struck a telephone pole near  Vannarpettai Tirunelveli.First, what are the Five Ws in this story?Who: Mariappan.What: Killed in a single-vehicle accident.When: 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.Where: Intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 2A.Why: bicycle struck telephone pole.How: bicycle went out of control.

Types of leads

There are  types of leads and many, many variations thereof. These are:

The summary lead.

Summery lead answer several but not all of the basic questions 5Ws and 1 H.Summary leads are most effective, it follows subject-verb-object order. This order is favoured for broadcasting writing.. Active voice is preferable in print also broadcasting news.

தர்மபுரி: கர்நாடக அணைகளில் இருந்து திறந்து விடப்படும் நீரின் அளவு அதிகரித்து வருகிறது. இதனால் ஒகேனக்கலில் பரிசல் இயக்க தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. நீர்வரத்து அதிகரித்துள்ளதால் முன்னெச்சரிக்கை நடவடிக்கையாக தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாக மாவட்ட கலெக்டர் தெரிவித்துள்ளார். 

Updated Lead

This is a type of breaking news  referred to as a first day lead.Television and online news require immediacy so that this type of lead used.

புதுடில்லி: தமிழகத்தில் ஒருவர் உட்பட, இந்தியாவில் இதுவரை 4 பேருக்கு ஜிகா வைரஸ் தொற்று இருப்பதாக மத்திய அரசு தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

Impact leads

The impact lead explains how the readers and viewers will be affected by the issue. This type of lead is good for broadcasting. Impact leads can be written in a hard news summery form or in a more creative form such as soft lead

Attribution  in leads.

Attribution tells the reader where you got your information. We put the attribution at the beginning or end  of the sentences.

ex: Police Cheif John law says the suspect is in custody.  

Soft lead 

Soft lead can be fun to write and fun to read. They can be effective in broadcast writing. It also called as delayed lead.

ஐதராபாத்: போதைப் பொருள் கடத்தல் வழக்கில், தன்னை தொடர்புபடுத்தி பேசுவதால், தன் புகழுக்கு களங்கம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக, பிரபல தெலுங்கு நடிகை, சார்மி கவுர், 30, கூறியுள்ளார்.

Descriptive lead. 

This type of lead describe  a person, place, or event

Anecdotal Leads

this type of lead also starts with  story about  person or n event. 

Narrative Leads

A Narrative lead tells  story with enough dramatic action so readers can feel  if they are witnessing the event. Narrative writing uses all the techniques of fiction, including dialogue 

Contrast leads. 

This type of lead can be used to set up stories about conflicts or unusual circumstances. 

Teaser Leads

These leads use the element of surprise to tease the reader into the story. Broadcast news uses the concept of teasers before commercials to convince the audience to stay turned after the break, but teases are also effective in leads on broadcast stories.

Mystery leads

Like teasers , these leads promise the reader a  surprise or a trial for reading on. They set up the story like a mystery novel. They are fun to write fun to read, but they wont work unless the subject matter lends itself to this approach.

Question leads

These can be effective if reder is interested in finding the answer to the question you pose. 

In the suggested recast lead, the writer has chosen to name five of the six key points, but in more general fashion that allows for economy of words. How, and the remaining details, will be filled in later.

- Journalists call the opening of a news story "the lead."

- The lead is the most important part of any newspaper story, because it is based on the lead that most readers decide whether to continue reading.

- The lead must accurately summarize the facts of the story.

- The lead must be interesting enough to command and keep the reader's attention.
Keep leads simple especially for broadcast]

- The modern preference is to keep leads short.

- Economical use of words will benefit any news lead.

- A telling detail that sets a story apart from the others belong
 focus on person
Descriptive approach

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Journalism Means

Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. . The news and information can be presented in many different ways including articles, reports, broadcasts, or even tweets.  Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened.

(Indian journalist Sandhya Ravishankar)

Journalism is a form of  communication

 It is unique because it's a one-way message, or story, from the journalist to the audience. It's most unique because the message is not typically the journalist's personal story or subjective thoughts. Instead, the journalist acts as a channel, narrating an objective story about something that happened or is happening, based on his or her observations and discoveries.

This type of storytelling comes in many different forms, including:

• Breaking news, Feature stories, Investigative reports, Editorials Reviews,Blogs

Journalism's comes in the form of reporting. To 'report' simply means to convey the facts of the story. The story can be analytical or interpretive and still be journalism. In general, reporting comes from interviewing, studying, examining, documenting, assessing, and researching.

5. Most pieces of journalism includes the five Ws  some or all of these:

• Who was it
• What did happen
• Where were they
• When did it happen
• Why did it happen

JOURNALISTS :  People who write journalism are called "journalists." Journalists work in many areas of life, finding and presenting information. we define journalists principally as men and women who present that information as news to the audiences of newspapers, magazines, radio or television stations or the Internet.

In large organisations, the journalists may specialise in only one task. In small organisations, each journalist may have to do many different tasks. Here are some of the jobs journalists do:

Reporters gather information and present it in a written or spoken form in news stories, feature articles or documentaries. Reporters may work on the staff of news organisations, but may also work freelance, writing stories for whoever pays them. General reporters cover all sorts of news stories, but some journalists specialise in certain areas such as reporting sport, politics or agriculture.

Sub-editors take the stories written by reporters and put them into a form, which suits the special needs of their particular newspaper, magazine, bulletin, or web page. Sub-editors do not usually gather information themselves. Their job is to concentrate on how the story can best be presented to their audience. They are often called subs. The person in-charge of them is called the chief sub-editor.

Photojournalists use photographs to tell the news. They either cover events with a reporter, taking photographs to illustrate the written story, or attend news events on their own, presenting both the pictures and a story or caption.

The editor is usually the person who makes the final decision about what is included in the newspaper, magazine or news bulletins. He or she is responsible for all the content and all the journalists. Editors may have  assistants to help them.

The news editor is the person in charge of the news journalists. In small organisations, the news editor may make all the decisions about what stories to cover and who will do the work and, whose special job is to assign reporters to the stories selected.

Feature writers work for newspapers and magazines, writing longer stories which usually give background to the news. In small organisations the reporters themselves will write feature articles. The person in charge of features is usually called the features editor.

Producer : The person in charge of producing a particular current affairs program is usually called the producer and the person in charge of all the programs in that series is called the executive producer 

Specialist writers may be employed to produce personal commentary columns or reviews of things such as books, films, art or performances. They are usually selected for their knowledge about certain subjects or their ability to write well. Again, small organisations may use general reporters for some or all of these tasks.

 case Study

Meet Sandhya Ravishankar: the journalist hell-bent on exposing illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu

A freelance journalist has exposed the illegal mining racket in Tamil Nadu

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