Monday, January 31, 2011

Basic Ledes . . . Peanut Barrel Rule

This one I think adheres to the rule:

A young man who was hit by lightning last summer is now suing for the cost of his medical bills.

That's the most basic detail of the story, right? It's the bare minimum of what a reader must know about the story. It's the latest information.

This one, not so much:

An adoption agency hired a private investigator after a woman cut off contact with the agency and the prospective adoptive parents.

I just don't think this is the first thing you'd say about the story. Wouldn't you say something about a woman being arrested for faking her pregnancy for cash?

When reviewing a lede, put it through the Peanut Barrel test. If it doesn't pass, then keep rewriting until it does.

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