Monday, May 23, 2011

Ledes -- Who, what, WHEN, where, why?

What's wrong with this lede?

A man died in a car accident near the church where he was to be married.

Think about what's critical in a story -- and a lede -- via the five W's. We know who (a man), what (he died), where (near the church where he was to wed) and why (car crash).

What we're messing is WHEN -- today!

Not always will you have all five W's in a lede. Burt in this one, I'd argue as something that just happened, the "when" is central to it being news.

Don't forget your five W's, and be sure to include the ones that are central to why a particular story is news.

No comments: