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LEADS. Summary and multiple-element leads: Leads where the “what” is emphasized. Summary leads. Used when the whole is more important than the parts. Used to sum up several important actions rather than highlighting a specific action.
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LEADS Summary and multiple-element leads: Leads where the “what” is emphasized
Summary leads • Used when the whole is more important than the parts. • Used to sum up several important actions rather than highlighting a specific action. • Used in rare occasion where a general statement is preferable to a specific action.
Summary lead examples • A bill requiring employees to give workers up to three months unpaid leave in family emergencies won Senate approval Thursday evening. • The Moline City Council replaced the city’s 75-year-old municipal code with a revised version Tuesday night.
Summary lead examples • An Idaho farmer’s fence apparently was cut last week. It set off a chain of events Friday night that landed three people in the hospital, killed a cow and totaled a vehicle in the eastern Spokane Valley. • Is the whole more important than any of its parts?
Multiple-element leads • Used when two or more actions are of equal importance. • Used when one theme is too restrictive. • Used when actions can be relayed within the confines of one, clear, simple sentence. • Usually use parallel structures.
Multiple-element leads • Used frequently when reporting on councils, boards, commissions, legislatures, courts because they act on numerous issues in one sitting. • The rest of the story must follow the order that information in presented in the multiple-element lead.
Multiple-element lead examples • The City Council Tuesday ordered three department heads fired, established an administrative review board and said it would begin to monitor the work habits of administrators. • A flash fire that swept through a landmark downtown hotel Saturday killed at least 12 persons, injured 60 more and forced scores of residents to leap from windows and the roof in near-zero cold.
Multiple-element leads • Sometimes multiple-element leads may take two paragraphs if two elements need prominent display and both are fairly complicated. • Advice: Simple is preferred. Use multiple-element leads sparingly.
Other options • Use graphic devices, such as summary boxes. • Other council action: • Voted to resurface three streets • Delayed start on water treatment plant • Hired city planner
Other options • Sidebar: Breaking a story into small segments. • Presents information in short, palatable bites. • Increases readers’ comprehension and retention. • Each story usually gets byline and headline. • Allows writer to elevate more elements to lead position. • Possible pitfall: Not enough space
Other options • Subheads: Smaller headlines are inserted within the text of the story to break off other major happenings that occurred. • Usually used in longer stories. (more than 20 inches)