Improving News Leads

Transcript

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2. Tommy Thomason
   Director
   Texas Center for Community Journalism
   Crafting effective
   news leads
   A coaching approach
   

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3. The premise
   The awful paradox
   Lead writing’s a
   bitch.
   But nothing’s
   more important.
   

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4. And nothing is more
   frustrating than trying
   to come up with a lead
   

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5. Square
   one
   Hey Ernie, how do you
   write a news lead?
   

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6. Lead-writing is
   Abstracting
   

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7. How abstracting works
   

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8. the event
   How abstracting works
   

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9. the event your observation
   How abstracting works
   

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10. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    How abstracting works
    

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11. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    How abstracting works
    

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12. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    your lead
    and story
    How abstracting works
    

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13. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    your lead
    and story
    story printed
    How abstracting works
    

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14. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    your lead
    and story
    story printed what’s read
    How abstracting works
    

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15. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    your lead
    and story
    story printed what’s read what’s
    understood
    How abstracting works
    

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16. the event your observation
    your
    understanding
    your notes
    your lead
    and story
    story printed what’s read what’s
    understood
    what’s
    remembered
    How abstracting works
    

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17. The keys to
    writing
    good
    leads…
    

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18. A sense of what the story is
    about
    

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19. Good reporting
    

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20. Getting to the point, writing
    conversationally, and writing
    readably
    

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21. Types of
    lead
    screwups
    

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22.  Not understanding the
    story before you begin to
    write
    

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23.  Not understanding the
    story before you begin to
    write
     Backing in
    

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24.  Not understanding the
    story before you begin to
    write
     Backing in
     Lead is too long
    

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25.  Not understanding the
    story before you begin to
    write
     Backing in
     Lead is too long
     Writer should have used a
    delayed (soft) lead
    

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26. Soft news leads and nut grafs
    

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27. Don’t just think about the machinery of
    government, think about issues
    What’s the problem or issue?
    Who are the people affected? How?
    What are the possible solutions?
    What are the political alignments?
    Example: Let’s
    say there’s a
    proposal to ban
    smoking in
    restaurants…
    

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28. The City Council met Tuesday night and
    voted on renaming a street on the west side
    of town, the purchase of a new police cruiser
    and a proposed smoking ban.
    

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29. The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to adopt
    a smoking ban that will prohibit smoking at
    all Center City businesses.
    Proponents had argued that banning
    smoking would protect the health of both
    patrons and employees. Those who opposed
    the ban said business owners should be able
    to make decisions on whether or not to ban
    smoking.
    

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30. Frank Smith, owner of Joe’s Bar and Grill
    downtown, said the smoking ban enacted Tuesday
    by the City Council may force him to close his
    business.
    “Lots of my patrons like to light up after a meal,”
    Smith said. “The economy is already bad for
    restaurants and I can’t afford to lose any more
    customers.”
    The City Council passed a smoking ban for all
    Center City businesses in a 4-3 vote Tuesday.
    

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31. View Slide