Writing News Stories

1. Writing News Stories Those leads and more...

2. News Points • News stories are told upside down • Reader gets to the most important info quickly • End result is first. Key facts in beginning paragraphs. • If it was a mystery story, you solve the mystery first and then devote rest of story to telling the reader how and why it happened • NO CONCLUSIONS! “Shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph!”

3. Upside down example Your notes -- really fleshed out and polished I was in Seattle Saturday. A large group of people were riding their bikes naked. (57 people riding) They were in a kind of a parade..a special bike ride event. One woman was painted with stripes (she was from Oak Harbor, Washington). They were riding their bikes into Seward Park. And then, the police came. The police arrested three of the bike riders, including that striped lady. I talked to one man. He said, “"Seattle has never had a problem with this ride.” His name was Daniel Johnson. He organized the event. He calls the event “The Seattle Naked Bike Ride.” They were cited for indecent exposure.

4. FIVE MINUTES>>>>>>>> You write the lead from that information!!Hint: WHAT was the end result?Include in the lead the WHEN and the WHO

5. WHAT HAPPENED: Three people were arrested when they rode their bikes naked WHEN? Three people were arrested SATURDAY when they rode their bikes naked.. WHERE? Three people were arrested Saturday as they rode their bikes into Seattle’s Seward Park WHO? Three of the 57 participants in the Seattle Naked Bike Ride were arrested Saturday as they rode their bikes into Seattle’s Seward Park ADD COLOR: The final lead NEWS STORY THAT RAN Three of the 57 participants in the Seattle Naked Bike Ride -- including one stripped, stripy Oak Harbor woman -- were arrested Saturday as they streaked into Seattle’s Seward Park. The bare bicyclists were released from Seattle police custody hours later after being cited for indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. But festival organizers say the arrests may mark a change in the city's usual tolerance of bipedal nakedness. "Seattle has never had a problem with this ride," said Daniel Johnson, who's been organizing the event since 2003. "This is what happens when there's a communication failure.” Johnson said he believes the arrests were made in part because the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department is trying to discourage events that include nudity, a charge the department denies. Like similar events around the world, the Seattle naked ride is aimed at raising awareness of how "exposed" people are to pollution, Johnson said. He said the naked riders also draw attention to bicycling and the beauty of the human body.

6. Your Turn!Write a lead from #1 on your handoutFIVE MINUTES!

7. THE PUBLISHED STORY….. A local activist accused of making threatening phone calls to Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske pleaded not guilty in court Monday. Anwar Peace, 32, of Seattle, was arraigned in King County Superior Court on a charge of intimidating a public servant. Peace remains in the King County Jail with bail set at $150,000. Peace, an outspoken critic of the Police Department, is accused of leaving 17 phone messages on Kerlikowske's voice mail early June 30. In the messages, he says "I'm coming for you" and threatens to stalk the chief's daughter and harass his mother, court documents say. His next court hearing is set for July 30.

8. The Hook that tells the reader what the story is about …the lead… can also have a “soft lead” or creative lead Uses CONTRAST There’s no room at the Portage Jail for Matthew P. Dukes -- and he’s trying hard to get in. The Newton Falls resident has tried six times in 15 months to serve a 30-day sentence for driving while intoxicated. But each time, deputies have turned him away. Uses SUSPENSE It took Christy Lynn Hamilton 23 years to become a police officer -- it took her 36 days to die. Uses a question (HARDEST to write) Who does better in marriage: men or women? Studies are contradictory but a growing body of research says men do -- at least in terms of mental and physical health.

9. DESCRIPTIVE LEAD It’s 5 a.m and out of the darkness cloaking rural Lamb County comes the shriek: Soo-ey! Here hawg! Here hawg! Roxanne Ward -- the world’s twice-crowned hog-calling champion is awke and on the job. SHOCKING LEAD Not long after Pat and Fred Brounds moved into their new home, they noticed they were not getting any mail. Only after more than a week and many phone calls did the post office tell them the truth: Their mail carrier was afraid of catching AIDS from them. IRONIC LEADS Hank Bulla thought his luck was bad when his car broke down and he had to leave it at a garage for repairs. But when Bulla showed up to collect his 1986 Oldsmobile, his car was gone -- and so were his father’s ashes. UNUSUAL WORDS, UNUSUAL WAYS A man who punched a highway patrol officer in the face will pay through the nose for the blow.

10. YOUR TURN…… YOU WRITE A CREATIVE LEAD… 5 minutes!

11. Quote Lead WSU Dean Jean Ambrose said: “Journalism students should be dealing with ideas of a social, economic and political nature. There’s too much of a trade school atmosphere in journalism schools today. One spends too much time on minor technical and mechanical things, like learning how to write headlines.” THE LEAD: Journalism students should deal with ideas, not learning how to write headlines and other minor things, said the dean of the WSU School of Journalism recently. No quote marks Attribution at end of sentence Uses writer’s own words to restate speaker’s words -- key phrases kept

12. Wrap Up! • You now have three lead types to use: • Summary lead • Creative Leads • Quote lead CONTINUE WITH YESTERDAY’S WORK!