Tuesday, September 27, 2011

More Ledes: Ledes I Liked

Again, nice work on the latest ledes exercise. You are all picking this up very well. A bunch of good ones, and here's a sampling of a few of 'em:

Fifteen minutes before he was supposed to walk down the aisle today, Scott Forsythe died in a car accident on Kirkmann Road, a half-mile from the church.

In that one,m you let the facts speak for themselves. In the next lede, you set context through the stark contrast between the joy of a wedding and the horror of a death:

Sara Howard though today would the the happiest of her life, when it turned into the worst when her fiance died in a car crash while swerving to avoid a dog.

This next one sets context through a quip and word play:

Being a suspect in a crime will cost you, literally. East Lansing city officials announced today that suspects will now pay a $25 fee for the process of being arrested.

This next lede doesn't just offer the what, but the why as well.

In an effort to trim expenses, East Lansing officials announced that mug shots and fingerprints now cost those being arrested a fee of $25.

On this next one, it's a straight-to-the-point summary:

A 16-year-old student who was previously arrested for robbing a woman at gunpoint is still allowed to play on his school's football team, even while on house arrest.

This next one uses writing style to create a mini-narrative, in the style of fiction-writing but entirely based on facts:

Several months ago, East Lansing police Detective Larry Chavez arrested a 16-year-old boy for armed robbery. Today, the same boy still plays for his high school football team.

This last one is a delayed lede that has fun with the contrast between a couple of typical -- but very different -- items that say a lot:

Football players usually wear wristbands as an accessory, but what about an electronic bracelet?

Of the last three, which one do you like best, and why?

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