General notes:

-- With straight news leads, you usually need to put “what” first.

-- With broadcast leads, you generally need “impact”

-- For straight news and broadcast leads, what is latest development

-- Need to punch up feature leads to get reader’s attention.

-- Broadcast leads need to be concise

-- Avoid sentence fragments

-- Use addresses to “place” story

-- Information needs to be consistent

Question 1

Write a straight news lead:

A study was released yesterday by the University of Colorado. The study was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The study said that 60 percent of college students who begin studying science, mathematics, or engineering switch to another major. The study cited poor teaching and an aloof faculty as the cause.

Put what first.

Question 2

Write a broadcast lead:

A study was released yesterday by the University of Colorado. The study was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The study said that 60 percent of college students who begin studying science, mathematics, or engineering switch to another major. The study cited poor teaching and an aloof faculty as the cause.

Personalize information.

Need to indicate which students.

Question 3

Write a straight news lead:

There was a fire yesterday at a pizza restaurant. It is located at 2035 Main St. Two firefighters were injured when the roof fell in. They were treated at St. Luke's Medical Center for minor injuries. The fire started in the basement of the building. The cause is under investigation. The roof collapsed, and the inside of the building was destroyed. Damages are estimated at $100,000. The information comes from the fire officials in your community.

Need location of restaurant.

Include time element.

Include seriousness of injuries.

Question 4

Write a broadcast lead:

There was a fire yesterday at a pizza restaurant. It is located at 2035 Main St. Two firefighters were injured when the roof fell in. They were treated at St. Luke's Medical Center for minor injuries. The fire started in the basement of the building. The cause is under investigation. The roof collapsed, and the inside of the building was destroyed. Damages are estimated at $100,000. The information comes from the fire officials in your community.

State irony of situation, but try not to be flippant.

Question 5

Write a feature lead:

Nancy Pauw is a graduate student. One morning, she circled the parking lot east of the computer center three times before she found a parking space. Last year, there were 7,565 student parking permits sold for 3,930 spaces. "I have to get here an hour early so I can get to class on time," Pauw says. She is one of many students at MTSU who experiences the daily frustration of not finding a parking space even though they have purchased a $30 or $50 permit.

Use example and set scene for reader.

Use play on words.

Question 6

Write a straight news lead:

The Tennessee Board of Regents has approved an increase in the rates for campus housing at MTSU. The biggest increase will be in residence halls, where rates will increase 14.8 percent for double-room occupancy. The current rate is $2,684, and it will increase to $3,080 next fall.

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Need to put “what” first.

Need to focus on impact.

Personalize information.

Question 7

Write a broadcast lead:

Vandals broke into the Midtown Magnet Middle School at 300 Fifth Ave. just before 7 p.m. on Sunday. They broke windows and damaged 11 classrooms and an office area. They damaged computers and other equipment. The cost of the damages has not yet been estimated. Classes are scheduled to resume today (Tuesday). School was closed Monday while school district employees spent the day cleaning up damage to the school.  

Be concise.

Focus on latest development and context.

Question 8

Write a feature lead:

The General Accountability Office, the investigative arm for Congress, issued a report yesterday that said record keeping at the National Park Service is defective. The report said information in the Park Service's financial statements is inaccurate and filled with accounting errors. Property owned by the Park Service is overstated by more than $90 million, the report stated. Examples of inaccurate data in the Park Service records include a vacuum cleaner that is really worth $150 but is listed in records as worth $800,000, a dishwasher worth $350 but valued at over $300,000, and a fire truck worth $133,000, but undervalued at 1 cent. 

Use examples to get reader’s attention.

Use attribution to provide context.

Question 9

Write a straight news lead:

The Murfreesboro City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday. The council will consider adopting an ordinance that would impose penalties for false alarms that are sent to the police department from faulty or improperly operated electronic security systems. Under the proposed ordinance, an alarm system owner would be allowed six free false alarms. The owner would have to pay a $30 penalty for each additional false alarm.

Need to put “what” first.

Need to clarify penalty is for too many false alarms.

Question 10

Write a feature lead:

You interviewed a student who lives in an attic apartment. His story is similar to the stories of many other students in this neighborhood, known as the Oread neighborhood. As you climbed the steps to his apartment, you noticed that duct tape keeps the banister in place on the stairs. You saw that the kitchen is infested with mice and roaches. The student, Ted Flis, took you to the bathroom and said it has no electricity. "It's a dump," said Flis, a senior majoring in architecture. "But it was the cheapest thing I could find." The apartment is located at 1032 Main St.

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Use descriptions to set scene.

Use irony that Flis is an architecture student.

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