Ledes…Due Friday, June 27
June 21, 2008
Hey Chipsters! Four weeks down for some of you – and a good time to review your goals. I’ll be sending individual e-mails this week reminding you of your goals.
Two questions for our blog this week: One — please share a lead you wrote that you really liked — and tell us why you liked it. (Russel, please do the same with a photo.) Or tell us about an experience you had about finding and/or revising a lead.
Two: Some folks are considering going to UNITY — but are concerned about costs and the time away from their internships. Any advice for these Chipsters (esp. if they’ve just graduated and will be looking for a job)?
the lede that I’m proud of is
Chloe — did you perhaps include a link?….Try again!
I liked this lead because Hammer often rides his unicycle attached with a double stroller to work. The story is about Commute Options Week, which challenges local workers to walk, bike, carpool or find other methods of getting to work than driving. It was a fun article to write and I think a lot of people are interested in any story about reducing your mileage. And how many people do you know that ride a unicycle with a double stroller?
I’m not sure about offering advice for the UNITY conference. Although, I will be missing the first few days of school for the Nashville training session. I’ve told my professors in advance that I will be missing the first few days because I will be at a journalism conference. That way they know I’m not just missing school for leisure. Editors are as human as professors. I think they’ll understand if you approach them EARLY and talk to them about the conference, versus just telling them you need this time off to go. Plus, you can talk about how you’ll make it up later. Like working a weekend shift or a couple night shifts. I’m sure that editors will be willing to listen even if we are interns.
Oops. Lead:
For Erik Hammer, riding a unicycle to work instead of driving is no big deal.
During the 2007 Commuter Challenge — a main component of Commute Options Week, when local workers are challenged to use methods of transportation other than their motor vehicles — Hammer brought his daughters to work by riding his unicycle attached to a double stroller.
Hah yeah I forgot to finish my thought I suppose.
Theresa Bisbano, happily married for 56 years, didn’t want diamonds for her 50th wedding anniversary.
I revised this lede a lot because the story was initially supposed to be about her husband, and I thought it was weird that I would make his wife the lede. But the next sentence tied the two of them together. I liked this lede because it’s a bit quirky, and I felt that the reader’s next question is “Why?” and would definitely make them continue reading.
Next sentence, btw. Instead, she wanted her husband, Ennis Bisbano, former Bristol superintendent and one-time big band trumpeter, to get his instrument out of the closet and play at their reception, for the first time in nearly 30 years.
p.s. the story will be in tomorrow’s projo so feel free to look it up!
Also for UNITY people: My number one idea to help make you look good about taking time off of work would be to see if you can figure out a local angle to the UNITY conference and pitch a feature story (for instance, would any of the speakers have a connection to your newspaper’s town/state.local issue?). If the newspaper has the budget, maybe they’ll even sponsor some of your way. Just make sure you come back with a good story! If that doesn’t work, tell your editor wayyy in advance and like Kelly said, offer to make up the time through double shifts. That’s what I am going to be doing with my sister’s wedding, and as long as I make up the time, they don’t care.
But the point of the internship is to prepare you for the working world, and going to a conference with potential job offers isn’t something that should be missed. In my opinion. So hopefully the editors will be understanding.
The four custom-built choppers gleamed under the white lights of the room.
Every detail down to the green powdercoat and the catalog-ordered street tires was in place, just as the Oshkosh North High School team planned it.
This is a lede from a features story that I really liked. It always seems much easier to put a little character into features stories. This one was about a number of Wisconsin high school teams presenting the custom-built mini choppers they build from the frame up. I wanted to give readers a sense of what these bikes looked like, how much work went into and how important it was for the students. It is a little longer than most ledes, but I think it has a nice narrative feel.
I’m planning on going to the last half of UNITY. The paper is paying for the expenses. Like Colleen told me, it might not be a bad idea to check out the schedule and see which days interest you the most. If it seems too expensive, maybe see which days have sessions that will help you with your work at your paper. Then maybe you can go to your editor and see if can make them believe it would be worth it for them to pay for some or all of your trip.
One of my favorite ledes so far:
“It just looks like a bomb went off over there.”
That’s how Pam Hults described a lot across from her subdivision in Oak Hill that once held more than 40 acres of mature oak trees. In March, a construction company that is building an apartment complex on part of the land demolished 150 trees that were marked to be preserved, leveling much of the land to gravel. Company officials said it was a mistake.
I really like it because quote ledes are hard to write and rare to come by, but this one worked really well for the story. Plus it creates an immediate visual - a barren field that used to be filled with oak trees.
About UNITY, I would LOVE to go, but I’m not sure my wallet can handle it. But if you’re sure about going and are trying to figure out ow to take time off from the internship, talk to your editor. Explain why you want to go, and what you can get out of it - UNITY is a once-in-four-years deal, you’ll be in your mid 20s before it comes back again. Bargain to work extra days to make up for the time off. If that doesn’t work, then try just to go to the Saturday events at the conference. You would miss half of the conference, but you would still get to experience some of it.
If you’re worried about costs, try rounding up some of your fellow Chipsters to share a hotel room. Southwest Airlines offers pretty cheap airfare, and they usually have weekly flight specials.
Hey Chloe, Regina, Mimi and Kelly — love the thought you put into these leads — and each one makes me want to read on. Nice! Sincerely, your Coach.
Apparently, the northwest produces good border patrol agents…so they came to Salem to recruit, as part of a government mandate by good ol’ Bush to nearly double the task force by the end of 2008. I liked the lede because it was a soft lede that was still able to convey the 5Ws and not be too much of a mouthful:
They call themselves “Guardians of the Border,” and seven of them, U.S. Border Patrol agents, came to Salem on Thursday to recruit at the Red Lion Hotel.
Read it here: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/NEWS/806130338
UNITY: If I knew, I’d be going …see you at 2012? : )
Hi all,
I’d definitely suggest getting to Unity any way that you can. If you have family friends in the area who will let you crash, call them up. If you have a mentor, or other working journalists who are going, call them as well. Their jobs often send them (expenses paid) to the conventions. So they sometimes won’t mind sharing a room or helping you find accomodations. Also, look for nearby hotels besides the main convention sites. This is Chicago. Downtown Chicago. I’m sure you can find a Holiday Inn or Best Western somewhere. Also, check journo listserves (like NABJ, YBJ, etc) and see if other young journos are going. Pile 5 to a room. It’ll be tight, but you’ll form a bond and save some money.
On registration, you may just have to eat that cost. If you can’t stay the entire time, think about getting a one day pass. It’s expensive, but if you’re looking for a job, use that day to work the job fair. Don’t want to pay at all? Contact the recruiters before hand. Ask to meet them for lunch, coffee, or whatever. That way, even if you can’t get into the job fair, you’ll still be able to network. Also, just trolling the hallways you’ll bump into tons of people. And, not that I’m advocating this, but I’ve known people who borrow other people’s badges — I know a guy who duplicated the convention badge one year so he could get in for free. Not advocating it, just saying.
If you are concerned about leaving that time on your internship, talk to your supervisor. Tell them you’re willing to stay an extra week, 5 days, 2 days, whatever, to make that time up. They won’t be paying you while you’re away anyway, so it won’t cost them any more money, they’ll get cheap labor and you’ll get a few extra days to bang out clips. Sorry it was so long. Hope that helps!
Talia
Chipster Summer ‘04
Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain held a town hall meeting at Missouri State University with energy security on top of his agenda.
This was my favorite because it was simple and on video stories you don’t want a descriptive long opening, you let the video do that work.
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=VideoNetwork&pid=3e944957de2313079d0b256de6dd7da395ac4d75&videoid=778274166
Unity-I was giving up on going but I will see if there’s anything my paper might benefit from if I go and ask my editor!
One of my first assignments was a strawberry dining story about events related to the harvest which was at hand (I’m more accustomed to writing news, so it was a challenge). But, my editor said Oregonians are crazy over their berries and I haven’t had a strawberry till I’ve had one from this state. So, I tried my best to have an emphasis on the fruit everyone from Oregon knows and loves (apparently).
They are plump, juicy, colorful and fragrant. They are Oregon strawberries, and they are ready for the picking and, more importantly, the eating.
I liked it anyway.
As far as Unity, good luck those of you who are going. I wish I could but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Editors seemed fine with it, but the program Sally and I tried to sign up for hasn’t gotten back to me. Oh well, better luck next time. For those of you still thinking about it, I suggest you save some money and be prepared to go without a paycheck. That, or try to make up the lost time at work if you can.
Also, make sure to take some of your fresh clips from this summer, by now everyone should have lots to choose from. If you can, print a copy of the PDF where your story published and print out a reader friendly copy to go with it (from the Web). I find this gives recruiters a clean professional looking sample of your writing. Ask your copy editors if they can help or tell you who can help you get the copies of the layouts for your stories.
That’s my best advice for Unity take it or leave it
“A Delmar man who tried to murder his wife, changed his mind and decided to let her live, was handed a 50-year prison sentence by the Wicomico County Circuit Court on Friday.”
This is one of my favorite ledes so far. What I like about it is that it tells the story in one sentence. When I was in court, the fact that the man changed his mind was mentioned over and over … and over again. This lede also conveys what’s unique about the case. The only regret that I have is that it’s more than 22 words.
Hey guys, sorry for my belated reply.
As for a lede…
The most recent one I can remember was about the anniversary of a tragic car accident involving teen drivers. I then went into how the parents are trying to change state driving laws because of it–so far unsuccessfully.
At first I had written, “Ten years ago, Vicky Heston’s life changed forever.”
But then my edior suggested it was trite. So we changed it to something that people might not normally realize, that even 10 years later, she still feels sick to her stomach.
“Even after 10 years, the sick feelings Vicky Heston felt on her way to the hospital that day come rushing back.”
…or something like that. Sorry, I’m at home, and online searching only goes fo far .
As for Unity. I am going. My company is paying, and I am staying with my distant cousins. So it’s a good excuse to get to know them too. And I live in Kansas City, so I can drive in a few hours to Chicago.
A family friend who worked at the L.A. Times told me that I should use the Unity conference to go though the job fair. He said that the best time to look for a job is when you don’t need one. That is now for me and for many of you still in college. You’re just building contacts, getting to know them, and then you keep in touch until a job opens up or you need a job. He also said that few people go through the job fair at Unity even though it’s huge, so you have a better chance of making an impression. That seemed like wise advice.
This was my favorite lede, and it was made possible through the wonders of the Internet!
Seriously though, blogging has been so much fun for me, largely because it feels more informal and you can have a little more stylistic lee-way. I liked that I got to write the headline for this, and it allowed me to set up both my lede and the video clip that I included with the blog post.
Take a look here:
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2008/06/06/shes_got_obama_on_her_arm.html
Late chiming in:
“Chaplain Les Ames doesn’t look like he would be raising money for
charity; he looks like he could beat you up in a bar brawl. But raise
money for charity he does. Covered with tattoos, wearing denim and
leather, topped-off with a Guns N’ Roses-style tophat, Ames and 51
other Christian Bikers rode for charity Saturday, raising money to
send low-income children to summer camp.”
This leade was censored a bit. The final version switched “looks like he could beat you up in a bar brawl” for “looks like he was cast in The Road Warrior” due to “libel concerns.” Whatevs.
I like it because it paints a picture. You get a feel for these Christian biker dudes. The contrast between the image these Christian bikers create (tattoos, grizzled, etc.) and their earnest intentions (raising money for charity) is on display –which I found to be one of the compeling and fascinating apsects of the story. Especially because most of the guys I talked with found Jesus and slowed their pace of life after living down-and-out for years–which, though I’m not religious, was fascinating and quite compelling.
Hey Scholars — great work!
Princella — way cool video — loved that you got the shot of the worker putting the acid in the truck….Sharahn, your lead chills to the bone…..Meredith, good example of how collaboration can lead to best work.
Thanks everyone for sharing your work/thoughts.
Best leade I’ve written yet, and it was on deadline:
LANCASTER — There is one truly-great and endless 20th Century debate in the minds of many muscle car enthusiasts. What’s better — Chevy or Ford.
And at Saturday evening’s Midsummer Night’s Car show in Lancaster, that debate was no closer to being resolved than it was when Richard Petty roared to victory in the 1964 Daytona 500, driving a Hemi-powered Mopar that was manufactured by neither.
As it turns out, each of Detroit’s Big 3 auto-makers made a showing of force at the fourth annual event, which is a fundraiser staged by Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church.