Meeting: Lede With The News

We took a bit of a step back with ledes on this exercise. The news isn't that things were discussed; it's what was done or not done. Too many ledes or section starts defaulted to things were discussed. That's not the news, right?

These were ledes that went in that direction:

The Ingham County Commission met yesterday afternoon, addressing several items within the county, both economic and social.

... and ...

The Grand Ledge School Board discussed several issues at its meeting last night.

The problem here is that the news isn't that the commission or school board addressed items; it's what the items were that were addressed. From this lede, you don't know if they gave out ribbons to old ladies or declared war on Russia. It's too vague. Those ledes sound like this imaginary football game story lede:

The MSU football team played a game Saturday night.


And that's a lede we'd never write, right? These next ledes were better in that regard:

The Ingham County Commission met yesterday afternoon to discuss a new condominium development, purchasing pistols, their salary, and to honor two girls who saved a child from the water.

... and ...

The Grand Ledge School Board discussed its budget, evolution vs. creationism in textbooks and summer school at its meeting last night.

You do identify what the issues were, but it still falls short of ultimate outcome and end result; that being what actions they took regarding these issues: for example, with the commission meeting they approved a new condominium development, considered new gun restrictions, rejected increasing their salaries. You did note that they honored the girls.

Those ledes sound like this modified game lede:

The MSU football team played Notre Dame Saturday night.

And that lede still doesn't go far enough toward ultimate outcome and end result.
This modified football lede does:

The MSU football team beat Notre Dame 63-0 Saturday night.

So, now let's apply that same fixation on end result on this school board lede:

The Grand Ledge School Board approved a new budget and voted to keep evolution-based textbooks and summer school at its meeting last night.

Much better, right? You now know precisely how things ended.

But it wasn't necessary that you include every element in your lede. A big part of journalism is deciding what is most newsworthy, and ranking that news accordingly (or even excluding things if you feel the newsworthiness was limited or simply not there).

This commission lede zeroed in on a single topic:

The Ingham County Commission met today and approved plans for a luxury condominium development on Elkhart Lake.

And that's fine. I'm not saying the development was necessarily the lede item; I think valid arguments could be made for any of the items being the most interesting, relevant and/or useful. Readers don't need us to summarize a whole meeting; they could probably Google an agenda themselves. What they need journalists for is to make sense of the news and tell them what matters most.

So don't be afraid to make decisions, based on the evidence and what may impact or interest readers the most.

One commission lede took ultimate outcome beyond the meeting. Remember the gun restriction decision was pushed to the next meeting? Well, this was one of your ledes:

The Ingham County Commission promised to consider a proposal requesting a three-day wait before a pistol, could be bought, after Sheriff Gus DiCesare suggested it at yesterday's commission meeting.

This is what I call a forward-looking lede; one that goes beyond what happened at an event, and is centered in what that means going forward, or what action is next as a result. When we talk about ultimate outcome, the outcome isn't that the board talked about it; it's that the board will talk about it some more. That's the latest and newest news.

Speech: What's New Is The News!

The news, of course, isn't just that someone spoke; it's what they spoke about. In that sense, the following lede is correct but lacking:


U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo spoke at a Michigan PTA convention in East Lansing yesterday.


This next lede does that, but it still falls a bit short:

U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo spoke at a Michigan PTA convention in East Lansing yesterday about the issue of alcohol consumption among adolescents.

The problem here is you don't know what he said about alcohol consumption. Did he say he thought it was bad or great? That he thought it was awful? Or that he encourages all kids to get blotto?

You simply don't know based on what you offer. This next lede was much clearer:

U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo criticized the alcohol industry for targeting Halloween as their latest marketing opportunity at the Michigan PTA convention in East Lansing yesterday.

Note how it doesn't just say Izzo spoke about the alcohol industry; it says he criticized it. Correctly finding and using such a word to describe the contents of what he said is teh difference between a vague lede and an exact one.

Finally, just for the hell of it, let's look at what I thought was a very nice lede/nut graf/telling quote combo:

U.S. Surgeon General Tom Izzo delivered a passionate speech condemning the alcohol industry’s target of the traditional children’s holiday, Halloween, at the Michigan Parent Teacher Association meeting in East Lansing last night.

In the speech, Izzo shared his concern of the alcohol industry’s festive marketing techniques this year and how it’s association with Halloween is promoting dangerous alcohol consumption among youth.

“This year the alcohol industry has given new meaning to those innocent words of childhood. They are serving up new treats –and new tricks,” said Izzo.

So much to like here. First, a specific lede that I think fairly uses the work passionate. That word isn't based on your opinion; rather, it's based on your viewing his words in whole through conventional wisdom and factual basis. His argument had an edge to it, right? So, you're not offering an opinion, but an analysis.

That's the difference. An opinion is based on your feelings. Analysis is based on your reasonable interpretation of facts.

Second, the nut graf expands upon the lede. The lede says Izzo condemned the alcohol industry; the nut graf says how and why -- because of its marketing that promotes kids drinking.

Finally, you bring things full circle with your telling quote, so that readers don't have to take your word for it that Izzo was passionate and condemning -- you show the reader Izzo's words.

Missing: The News Is The News

News isn't that something happened or took place. It's what, exactly, happened or took place.

Let's consider this pretend lede from a football game story:

MSU played Notre Dame in a football game Saturday.

That lede doesn't work, right? That's because the news isn't that a game was played; it's what happened at the game, something like MSU beat Notre Dame 84-0 on Saturday.

In the same way, this not-pretend lede doesn't work, either:

The U.S. Department of Justice reveals the statistics of Michigan residents once reported as missing.

The news isn't that the justice department revelaed statistics; the news is what those statistics were! So a better lede would have said something like, The U.S. Department of Justice found more than 57,000 Michigan residents were reported missing last year.


What you're missing in each case is ultimate outcome and end result: who won or lost the game, and by how much in the former; how many people are missing in the latter.

So if you're covering a city council meeting, for example, the news isn't that there was a meeting, or even that they discussed a specific issue at the meeting; it's what action took place regarding the issue at the meeting.

Let's be sure we're hooking our stories and our basic ledes on what happened, and not just that something happened.

Controversial: The Satisfying Ending

In one story, you wrote about the vote and the ban and the pros and the cons. Then you ended with this graf:

It is impossible to make both sides of a proposal happy. However, the East Lansing School Board took a progressive leap forward in an attempt to protect their female athletes.

Here's my question: why did you add that? First, readers already know what happened; this simply repeats it. Second, you are adding a bit of opinion here, which we should refrain from doing.

In traditional English comp we write what is called a satisfying ending; that is, a closing statement that wraps everything up. Happily ever after, and so on.

But in journalistic writing we start with the ending in the lede, and then backtrack to let people know how we got to that ending and what facts support it.

That means in many journalistic stories, the ending will seem kind of abrupt. But that's okay. Just let the story end where it ends. Don't essentially repeat the lede by adding a satisfying ending.

Ledes: Good, Gooder and Goodest

When we're doing a lede, we have many options that are correct. But what we're looking for is the one that's the best; that covers the major bases and telling nuances simply and directly.

Let's look at some examples. First, this:

Rep. Constance P. Wei, an opponent to a ban on phone use while driving, was involved in a car accident while on her phone and driving, leaving the other driver with minor injuries.

It's a fine lede that covered the major bases. But it's missing a central irony. This lede had it:

While on the phone trying to postpone a vote on a bill banning cell phone usage while driving, Rep. Constance P. Wei crashed into a car on Wednesday afternoon.

Now, you get the extra irony: not only is she against the bill, she was talking about the very same bill at the time of the crash!

Context is one angle. The latest happening is the next. Did this lede have the latest news first?

A robbery and kidnapping occurred around 2 p.m. today at a convenience shop on 2752 Michigan Ave., according to Police Chief Barry Kopperud.

Structurally it's a sound lede, but it fails to go to end result and ultimate outcome: how did the crime end? This lede gets there:

A 6-month-old baby was found in her mother's truck 40 minutes after he mother was carjacked by a man who robbed a convenience store.

That lede gets to ultimate outcome, but this next lede gets even more up-to-the-minute:

East Lansing police are looking for a man suspected of an armed robbery and carjacking that resulted in a search for a 6-month-old child Wednesday afternoon.

This last lede is what I call a forward-looking lede, where it not only looks at what's happened up to now, but what's happening from here on out: police are continuing their search for the suspect.

Now, are any of these ledes wrong? No, none are. But I would argue the ones that go more to total context and end result are the best ones to use.

Basic ledes: End Result

Ledes need to go to end result and ultimate outcome. So, is this lede sufficent?

A train struck a car carrying a family of three Monday morning. The accident occurred at 5:48 p.m. when Abraham Cohen failed to stop at a stop sign.

I would say not. What happened to the family? That goes to end result, right? This lede does that:

On Monday evening, a train struck a sport-utility vehicle carrying two adults and a child, resulting in extensive vehicle damage but no serious injuries.

Now, you know not only what happened, but how it ended up. And that's what a lede is supposed to do.

Likewise, the news isn't just that something happened, it's what happened. This lede gets the first part, but not the second:

A $1.5 million study by the University of Florida reveals how education effects the marital status of women.

Okay, so we know that there was a study. Problem is, from this lede we don't know what the study found, exactly!

And the news isn't that a study took place, in the same way the news isn't that a football game was played. It's who won or lost, right?

Again, we need end result. And the end result is that the study found more educated women are more likely to divorce. So, the best lede would have been something like this:

A $1.5 million study by the University of Florida reveals more education can negatively effect the marital status of women.

Now, we know ultimate outcome: what the study found.