All About News Leads

Preparation for a story begins when the reporter starts gathering information.

The central point of a story should always appear in the lead.

The lead is the most important part of a story.

The lead should answer all six of these questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

In many stories, the names of the main subjects are not as important as what those people did or what happened to them.

A "blind lead" hides the central point of the story.

Leads should omit many names, particularly those readers are unlikely to recognize or those of people who played minor or routine roles in a story.

Leads can be too long, but they cannot be too short.

Journalists should avoid using active verbs because they make stories seem too sensational.

Reporters should always know what the central point of their stories will be before they begin gathering information and should not rethink the central point after they have begun.