Types of news leads

A lead (or an intro) is the beginning paragraph for a story. It is the hardest part to write as it sets the tone and introduces the reader to the rest of the story. A good lead paints a vivid picture of the story with a few words. Not many reporters can produce sharp, original leads.Writers of little talent and scant judgment load their leads with official sources, official titles, official phrases, even official quotes, and produce long-winding, cumbersome and dull leads. If the lead is not effective, the reader may skip the story. It should be appropriate for the story. The lead must be accurate, short and crisp. The lead should reflect the mood of the story. A routine lead is a short summary of an event. But if the story is interesting, a wide varieties of lead can be tried out.

1. Straight  lead (or Summary lead)
A good lead incorporates the inverted pyramid style with the most important facts first. It tells readers what they want to know in a creative manner. If the reader only read the lead, he or she would have a solid grasp of the story. The above accident report can be written in a straight lead. Journalists often resort to summary leads pressed for time.
Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped the curb outside Prospect Park and ran them down. Twelve in the group were injured. 

2. Descriptive lead
 A descriptive lead describes how an event happened rather than simply telling what the event is about.
BRIGHTON, England (UPI) -- Mrs. Pamela Bransden slowly counted five, snapped into a hypnotic trance, and gave birth to an eight-pound baby. It was as easy as that. 

3. Quotation lead
Quotes frequently are the essential documentation for a lead and should be used immediately after a paraphrase that summarizes them.This lead would add an element of interest such as drama, pathos, humour, astonishment, or some other factor that will reach out to the reader.Here goes a report on the increase in juvenile crime:

"I'd like to jail parents themselves who are so lax their kids are boosting the crime rate!"

This statement came from Juvenile Court Judge Warren Jones, in releasing a report on the

rapid rise in juvenile crime rate in this city.

 

4. Question lead
Many editors dislike question lead on the basis that people read newspapers to get answers, and not to be asked questions. But if the question is provocative, it may be used as a lead.

What is the first thing that a woman buys when she is advised that she won $2,50,000 in a jingle contest? 

5. 'You' lead (or Direct Address lead)
The `You' lead is intended to make a personal appeal to the reader involved in a complicated situation. The second-person approach reaches out to involve the reader and capture his/her attention. Here is an example:

Ski fans, here's your opportunity!

The recent storm deposited five inches of powder snow on Pleasure Mountain and the public ski lift is being operated . . .

6. Contrast lead
To vary monotony, a saga can be split into two sentences -- the first of which refers to the humble beginning and the second to the hero's latest triumph. When Van Cliburn, the pianist, returned from a musical triumph in Moscow, one reporter wrote:
Harvey Lavan (Van) Cilburn Jr. of Kilgore, Tex., came home from Russia today with 17 pieces of luggage. They bespoke his triumph as pianist in Moscow. He had three when he went over. 

7. Blind identification lead
If the person concerned is not well known in the community, his/her name is less important than other salient facts that identify the person. eg. "a 80-year-old woman" instead of her name.

A police inspector's son was attacked with a knife by some miscreants on Mount Road this evening. 

8. Gag (or funny) lead
A journalist who writes a funny story put up the saddest face in a newsroom. Journalistic homour requires the skilled and practice. Here is how an AP reporter wrote when a woman broke her leg trying to climb out of a locked London public toilet:
LONDON -- What's a lady do when trapped in a loo?

9. Literary allusion lead
Parallelling the construction of a nursery rhyme or part of a well-known literary creation can add to variety.

Mary had a little camera, and everywhere that Mary went the camera was sure to go.

10. Anecdotal lead
The anecdotal lead is used when the anecdote is bright and applicable and not too wasteful of space. It brings the reader quickly into a news situation that might not attract his attention if it were routinely written. Here is one that began a series on divorce in the U.S.

David and Kay Craig's two-year-old marriage is a second one for both and their story is one that is being repeated with increasing frequency across the country.

Each was married for the first time at 18. David's marriage lasted through five years and two children. Kay's first marriage ended in divorce after a year and eight months.

The Craigs (not their real name) are among the 13 million Americans who, according to the Census Bureau, at one time or another have been through a divorce. More than four million Americans currently list their marital status as divorced. The rate of divorces in this country has been and still is steadily increasing.

11. Personal lead
It involves the use of the first person singular in the lead. Normally such a use is discouraged except for a columnist or such privileged writers.

(By Reg Murphy, while editor of the Atlanta Constitution, after being released by a kidnapper)

When the tall, heavy, garishly dressed stranger appeared at the door, it was clear this was trouble.

He said, ``I'm Lamont Woods,'' in a Southern accent quickened by exposure to speech patterns elsewhere.

I let him into my living room for a moment but hustled him out quickly because of the anxiety within him. My wife, Virginia, stayed out of sight but went to the window as we left and noted that he was driving a dark green Ford Torino. She tried for the licence plate but couldn't see it.

And so I went driving into the Wednesday dusk with a man we both knew was trouble. Neither of us guessed then that it would amount to 49 hours of terror at the hands of a kidnapper telling a bizarre political tale and demanding $7,00,000 ransom . . . .

Reference
 The Professional Journalist.
Writing for the AP: The Second AP Writing Handbook.