Special Leads

Narrative lead
Charles R. Cross publishes new, interactive Led Zeppelin book

On May 11, 1969, Led Zeppelin, then a relatively unknown but up-and-coming British rock band, played a concert in Seattle before a few thousand people at the Aqua Theater at Green Lake, drawing noise complaints from some of the area's residents.

I personally believe that for this type of news story this is the best lead. This is not a hard news story; it is more one of entertainment. This lead attracts the reader where a summary lead would be boring and bland. I feel a Staccato lead could work well with this story also because it too is colorful and can grab attention.


Question lead
Now is the perfect time to drink most wines

PERFECT TIMING is admired in many things. Speak the right words to the right person at the right time and zoom — life can sprout wings. Golf, tennis, football . . . virtually any sport requires perfect timing if you want to compete at the pro level. It's the same with music, dance or any other performing art. But what about wine?

The question lead can be very effective if used correctly in that it can also grab the reader’s attention. The above lead makes the reader curious, which in turn grabs their attention. Relating wine to sports and perfect timing is not something you hear or think about everyday and it makes the reader want to read further to see how these relate. I believe this is a great choice for the lead in this type of news story because like the above story this is not a hard news story and can creativity can grab the reader’s attention. A summary lead or one of the other special leads could work for this story but the question lead does the job quite nicely. I could see a narrative lead or contrast lead working well for this story also but the question lead fits very well.