WEEK 5- Chapter 5 ‘The lead: will the reader follow?’

WEEK 5- Chapter 5 ‘The lead: will the reader follow?’

1. What sections of a newspaper do you read and why?

If I am reading the Herald I tend to skim over the paper reading the headlines and the first few paras that catch my attention. I am not a consistent reader in, as I do not focus one section of the paper. It also depends on what paper I am reading, for instance when I am home in Adelaide I read all the news articles relating to local issues and skim over the international issues.

2. How much time do you spend a day watching television compared with reading? What would encourage you to spend more time reading your local paper?

T.V always over the local paper, the Newcastle Herald does not entice me. SBS and ABC news over local news stations. It is always interesting to see how local content is covered differently in each state. I try not to watch too much T.V but the weekly quiz has encouraged me to buy the paper and take the time out to sit enjoy reading.

3. You have the perfect opportunity to write a ‘trick intro’ that will get readers at least into your second paragraph. But it would be at the expense of the central news value, which isn’t very strong anyway. What do you do?

Writing an article with a trick intro does not necessarily mean you are being dishonest to the reader. If it attracts the readers attention then, why not! I would still mention the central news value which isn’t very strong anyway.

4. You have done your research and conducted your interviews and have the basis of a great story but the intro just won’t gel. What will you do?

Keep persisting. I would persist till it sounds just how I want it. I would also ask for other colleagues’ help or opinion. If you do not have a strong and captivating intro readers may be less inclined to read the rest of the article. It also may help to look at writing the article at a different angle.

5. You have written a well-researched story but when it appears in the paper you see that a sub-editor who though they knew more about the topic then you did has added a new intro which is not only wrong but ruins the whole article and offends your sources. What should you do?

First of all I would point out and inform my sub-editor of the issues reading the article and how it has also offended my sources. If my sub-editor does not chose to rectify the article then I would just have to bear it. I would also apologise to my sources and explain the situation.

Journalism Issue

Two sections in the text that I found to be the most important for me to remember and apply when writing a newstory was: the questions to ask when formulating a lead and what lead would be best to use.

When writing a lead I should ask the following questions:

· What is the big question?
· What are the implications of what has been said or done?
· Why and how did it happen?
· How does if affect the public?
· What is the unusual or different about what has occurred?
· What news values, or angles did other co-workers have in mind?
· What is the most interesting thing about this story?

When writing a news story these questions should assist me in which news values should be used in the lead.

I had not come across intro styles before I read this chapter. I was briefly introduced to delayed leads in CMNS1090. The various types I could use are:
· Direct
· Attribution
· Summary
· Decision
· Delayed
· Question
· Quotation
· Direct address

It could be interesting to use one story and apply various lead types to see how different it comes across. Choosing the right lead to use can ultimately make or break the story.