时文报刊选读 lead

The Inverted Pyramid
There are two reasons for writing a story in the form of inverted pyramid. One: putting the most important information at the top allows a reader to decide quickly whether or not to stick with the story.
Classification of News Lead
Direct lead (summary lead) Main fact lead Contrast lead Quotation lead Suspend lead Direct address lead Descriptive lead Question lead
The other: allowing the readers to get as much of the most important information in that story as quickly as possible.
A lead is the beginning of your news story, a promise to the reader of what is to come. Usually the first or first two or three paragraphs are the lead of a news report. A lead is the key to any successful story. It is an invitation and it also must be appropriate for the news and clear to readers.
Selected readings from 21st-century newspaper
An introduction to the news lead
Recall...
Hard news versus soft news
Organization: The pyramid style
The writer puts information in chronological order. The beginning and ending of the story is the very beginning and ending of the news report. This typeHale Waihona Puke Baidu of writing applies to soft news which is usually long, interesting and full of human touch.
1) Direct Lead
The direct lead which is often used in hard news, also called summary lead, reveals immediately what the story is about. It is the summary or statement of the most important facts contained in the story. It is the climax, the result of the investigation, the theme.
5) Suspend lead
指先在导语中给读者以某些惊人的或戏剧性的细节，作为“ 引子”，调动读者思维，驱使他们迫不及待地一口气看完整 篇报道。 San Francisco was transformed into Batman's Gotham City on Nov 15. A woman was taken hostage and tied to cable car tracks, a criminal calling himself the Riddler attempted to rob a bank, and a villian known as Penguin made a nuisance of himself in the downtown area.
A lead should be as economical as possible in wording while providing information as rich as possible. It generally answers at least four of the five Ws and an H. Those four elements are who, what, when and where. It focuses on the essential aspects of what is reported, highlighting the most important content. It consists of the catching and stirring things, which attract the attention of readers.
Introduction (beginning)
Facts
Ending
The Inverted Pyramid
The most used structure for news stories.
Lead or Climax
Important Facts
less important Facts
The information is put in descending order of importance rather than in chronological order.
The magnificent national parks in the US attract millions of visitors all over the world every year. These parks including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Yosemite, are popular destinations among Chinese tourists. But this National Day holiday, Chinese tourists visiting the US were disappointed. Hundreds of national parks were closed due to a federal government shutdown, which started on Oct 1. (US comes to standstill in govt shutdown, Oct 9)
Fortunately, each incident was staged. It was part of an initiative by the Make-a-Wish charity to give five-year-old Miles Scott, who is recovering from leukemia, amemorable day acting as his favorite superhero. (Batkid spreads warmth, Nov 20)
2) Main fact lead
Focuses on one main fact, answers one or two most important “W & H” questions; it is more direct and concise than a summary lead which tries to answer as many “W & H” questions as possible.
3) Contrast lead
把两个人或两件事进行对比或对照,通常用以强调今天的变 化。 Examples: US late night talk show hosts love to make jokes about Obama and the white house. But Jimmy Kimmel Live shoe managed to offend so many people with a joke about China that the Obama administration is now officially set to intervene. (Viewers upset over racial slip, Nov 13)
In recent years there have been a number of attacks on medical staff. One of the latest occured at Wenling No 1 People's Hospital in Zhejiang. (Attacks underline healthcare problems, Oct 30)
It answers immediately, in almost thirty- five words or less, the main questions of who, what, when, where.
E.g. The trial of Bo Xilai, charged with bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, concluded on Monday at Jinan Intermediate People's Court, after hearings from Aug 22 to Aug 26. (29 words) The first-instance trial of Bo Xilai, 64, former Chongqing Party chief and former member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Political Bureau, concluded at Jinan Intermediate People's court in Jinan, Shandong on Monday. (35 words)
4) Quotation lead
引用消息中主要人物关键性或有针对性、有代表性或有新意 的话，以增强消息的真实性、可信性与权威性。 Example: Since early October, Russia's free medical service has become an object of envy on Chinese micro blogs. But "there exists no free medical service in the world", Ren Minghui, an official from the National health and family planning commission, said on Oct 30. "Even if patients do not pay money while seeing doctors, they incure medical costs covered by taxes,corporate or individual contributions." (No healthcare system is perfect, Nov 6)
Examples: Spam text messages have become a growing social problem in China, casuing mobile phone users annoyance and financial losses. (Spam messages put up stubborn fight, Nov 20)