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Basic stories

Basic stories. The inverted pyramid and story structure. Inverted pyramid. We’re all familiar with it. Tells the most important or interesting thing that happened first. Then rank the rest of the information in order of importance. Dates from the Civil War era or even earlier.

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Basic stories

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  1. Basic stories The inverted pyramid and story structure

  2. Inverted pyramid • We’re all familiar with it. • Tells the most important or interesting thing that happened first. • Then rank the rest of the information in order of importance. • Dates from the Civil War era or even earlier.

  3. Is the inverted pyramid still relevant? • In the 21st century, we’ve advanced far beyond the communications tools of the 19th. • We are more than ever pressed for time. Quickly delivering important information has relevance because we can catch the news and go on to what we need to do next.(BUT) • We’ve got more sources than ever to draw information from. Might other forms of delivering info trump the inverted pyramid?

  4. Basic facts in the lead • Who, what, where, when, why, how. • Which one of those is most often used as the lead? • Next: So what, what’s next?

  5. Don’t pack leads too full • Try to keep them easy to use, not too densely packed with info. You put info in second, third, fourth paragraph. Also, 25 words or less. • BAD: A 25-year-old Shepherd man and a 37-year-old Coleman woman were treated and released at Central Michigan Community Hospital when the vehicle they were riding in collided with a semi-truck driven by an Indiana man on U.S. 127 outside of Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday. • BETTER: Two people were injured in a car-semi crash on U.S. 127 outside of Mt. Pleasant Tuesday.

  6. Leads to avoid • Direct quotes. We have no context for what is being said. It’s OK to build a lead off a good quote, but don’t start with a direct quote.Ex. A Midland farmer is upset that a new commercial development is changing the view from his back porch.“I’ve enjoyed winding down on my back porch for the past 37 years, reflecting on the trees out back,” he told city planning commissioners Wednesday. “Now you’re gonna allow them to put up a big box where those trees should be.”

  7. More leads to avoid • Question leads. Stories should answer questions, not raise questions. • Definition leads. Dictionary definitions. Zzzzzzzzzz. • Cliches. For example, It’s a small world. Breathe a sigh of relief. The family only wanted the American dream. He searched high and low.

  8. Hey, one more to avoid! • Topic leads. Tell the reader what the news is, not the topic of the story.Ex. Shepherd village commissioners met Monday and discussed several issues. BORING.Better: Millage rates in Shepherd may need to increase due to large state cutbacks, village commissioners were told Monday. • You can avoid topic leads by leaving out:DiscussedTold howConsideredTalked about

  9. Immediate vs. delayed ID in leads • If person is well-known, can use the name in the lead. Otherwise, leave the name for the second or third paragraph. • Well-known ex. South Park creator Trey Parker said his show is meant to make viewers uncomfortable and challenge their beliefs. • Not well-known ex. Parking on CMU’s campus is woefully inadequate, a protester wearing an orange traffic cone hat and shirt marked with tire tracks said.

  10. Other lead approaches • The “you” lead. Can be effective, but use sparingly.Ex. You may want to avoid walking across campus on Tuesday.Work crews are digging several large holes around grassy areas for a planned tree-planting project. • Don’t overuse the “you” approach. Can work sometimes, but third person is the language we work in most often, and the one readers are most familiar with.

  11. Other leads, cont. • Summary lead. • Multiple-element lead. • Leads with flair. • Don’t worry too much about the names they are called. Just learn the concepts behind the names.

  12. Rest of the story • The next however-many paragraphs after the lead should give more details about the lead. • Arrange in descending order of importance. • Make sure your story flows naturally from one thing to the next. Don’t want to confuse readers by throwing in something that doesn’t naturally follow. • Context – make sure readers have enough context to understand the story as they read. • End of story – When you’ve reached the least important part, stop. No need for a summary.

  13. Questions?

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