Tuesday, May 22, 2012

More Ledes: Say What You Mean And Mean What You Say

There's a problem with this lede:

Only 15 minutes before the start of his wedding, local soon-to-be newlywed Scott Forsythe died in a car accident while traveling to the event itself.

Now, in many ways it's not a bad lede. It conveys the meaning fairly well. But what is incorrect -- a fatal, really -- is what it says: that Forsythe lost his life just moments before he became a newlywed.

Read that literally: it doesn't say he was a newlywed-to-be, or that the crash happened 15 minutes before his wedding was to start; it says the wedding took place and ol' Scott got hitched, all "Weekend At Bernie's" style.

This lede go that point right:

While speeding toward the church, a 22-year-old man died in a car accident just 15 minutes before he was to be married.


Make sure that you say what you mean, and that you mean what you say.

No comments: