Write the top of a news story that puts the most important news first

Say you have ten facts for a news story. It’s tempting to cram them all into the first paragraph so the reader doesn’t miss anything. But a lead isn’t a summary of your notes. It’s where you tell the reader what the news actually is.

A good lead (the opening of a news story) tells the reader right away what happened and why it matters. Not every detail deserves the same prominence in a news story. A one-kilometer detour can be important, but only once it’s clear why the detour is needed. The background doesn’t have to come first if today’s decision is the news.

News writing adds one more requirement. You can’t fill in the gaps with guesses. A bridge closure doesn’t automatically mean passersby were in danger. And you can write that residents are angry only if you have a source for it.

That’s why in this exercise you work from a self-contained, fictional fact sheet. You pull the news out of the fact sheet, write a one-sentence lead, follow it with a few short paragraphs, and leave out any facts that serve no purpose.

Below you’ll find the facts and the assignment. Then you can submit your version and get feedback on four journalism criteria.

Intermediate exercise: From fact sheet to news lead

Write the top of a straight news story in 120 to 150 words: a one-sentence lead, followed by two or three short paragraphs in descending order of importance (the inverted pyramid). Use only the facts below. You don’t have to include every detail. Don’t add quotes, causes, reactions, or predictions that aren’t on the list. This is a fictional situation made up for this writing exercise.

The Facts

• The city of Velderdam is fictional.
• The Lindenbrug in Velderdam is a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians between the train station and downtown.
• An inspection on Friday found cracks in two load-bearing steel connections.
• The city closed the bridge at 8 a.m. Saturday.
• No injuries have been reported.
• Cyclists and pedestrians can detour via the Spoorbrug; that route is 1.1 kilometers longer.
• A structural engineer will inspect the bridge on Tuesday.
• It is not yet known when the Lindenbrug will reopen.
• The city released this information in a written statement.

• Length: 120 to 150 words
• Time: 30 minutes

Learning Objective

Practice news judgment: put the most important fact first, put reliable information in order of importance, and write a complete but compact one-sentence lead, and order the rest by importance, without adding facts.

Criteria

• News Value: the lead is a single sentence that opens with the closure and its immediate cause; background facts don’t crowd out the heart of the story.
• Accuracy: every detail you mention can be traced back to the fact sheet; no causes, reactions, or conclusions are made up.
• Organization: the paragraphs after the lead add relevant practical news in descending order of importance, without repeating the lead.
• Precision: the wording is concrete, clear, and restrained; there’s no suggestive or needlessly flowery language.

Now write your version of the top of the story. What does a reader need to know in the first sentence, and what can wait a paragraph?

Paste your lead and the paragraphs that follow it below. ViaScripta assesses only news value, accuracy, organization, and precision. You don’t need an account.

Want more practice? Browse the full list of writing exercises.