Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Basic Ledes: Ledes I Liked

Include this one ...

Sociologists discovered that women with degrees are more likely to get divored.

Basic, to-the-point, simple and short.

... and this one ...

An accidental house fire on Saturday evening left two children dead, one adult with critical burns and caused an estimated $39,000 in damage.

It's everything critical to the story, right? What happened, how many people were hurt or died, who were they (in the generic), when it happened, what it was (accidental in nature).

... and this one ...

Failure to adhere to the warning signs at the train crossing near the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wayne Boulevard almost took the lives of the Cohen family, police said.

That lede started first with why, then what.

And this one was ALMOST  perfect:

County treasurer Vernon Sinclair faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of more than $1.5 million after pleading guilty to charges of embezzlement Wednesday morning.

It was techincally perfect! It went to the latest news -- that he's going to the joing for a looooong time -- and it flowed wonderfully.

But you misspelled the name! And if we don't have the facts right, then nothing is right.

No comments: