Types of Leads Writing in Journalism With Examples

 Types of Leads in Journalism With Examples. Types of Leads in News Story Writing.

21 Types of Journalism

Lead Writing- News Lead Writing

What is News Lead?

News lead is the first and second paragraphs of a news article after headlines. Usually, a good lead attracts readers to read the feature’s body by highlighting the news’s central issue. It contains the most essential information, followed by the body containing details, and the tail includes additional info.  According to the inverted pyramid style, the news lead answers the five w and one h questions to illustrate the story. An attractive news lead always increases the news value.

How to become a Good News Lead Writer?

A good news writer always follows the 5W and 1H of the report writing strategy in journalism to cover all issues related to the news headlines.

Good News Lead Examples

A Good Lead must follow the 5W and 1H rules of news writing.

FORMULA	WHO does WHAT,  WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW
Who	= subject, people name, organization name
What	= name of activity and event
When	= day, yesterday, tomorrow
Where	= location name
Why	= background of the event, purpose, cause
How	= process, detail of the event, audiences

What is the Long of a Sentence for Lead Writing?

According to Mansor (2010), The length of a sentence should not exceed 25 words. On the other hand, according to Mencher (2010), The size of a sentence should not exceed 35 words.

Types of Leads in Journalism

The two types of leads in Journalism are:

1. Traditional Lead (5W1H)
2. Alternative Leads (10 Types of Lead in Journalism)

Traditional Lead

The traditional Lead is Also known as the primary lead. It is constructed from 6 elements: who, what, when, where, why, and how. But, usually, the journalist will start with Who and What.  However, you can begin and end with any of the six elements.

Who-Lead News Writing Example

Headline	Myanmar ties the Young Tigers
Lead 1	The country’s under-22 squad (B-22) showed a lackluster performance in the opening match of Group A of the 2019 SEA Games when they only won a 1-1 draw against Myanmar just now.
Lead 2	The Young Tigers looked shaky early in the first half as they struggled to adapt on the surface of a synthetic pitch at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Philippines.

What Lead News Writing Example

Headline	Additional subjects follow the inclinations of the students
Lead 1	KUALA LUMPUR-The Secondary School Standard Curriculum (KSSM) (Upper Secondary), which will come into effect next January, aims to improve the flow of Science and Literature in the existing education system.
Lead 2	Deputy Director-General of Education (Policy and Curriculum Sector), Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahman, said Form Four students could choose four packages containing a combination of core and elective subjects in the new school term.

Alternative Leads in Journalism

Alternative Leads include Staccato Lead, Question Lead, Narrative Lead, Contras Lead, Citation Lead, Straight lead, Scene lead, Anecdote lead, Significant detail lead, and Direct address lead in journalism.

1. Staccato Lead

• It is a dot sign in the music
• It’s mean- separately read
• It’s like a dot, meaning the end of the sentence

 Example of Staccato

Lead 1	Kuala Lumpur: There is no Raya shirt or any celebration, and this year’s festival doesn’t seem to mean anything to them. For the past two months, this hospital has been their second home.
Lead 2	“Every day, we just shed tears thinking of Raef who risked his life because his health condition is often uncertain,” said Noraini Jaafar, 37, mother of four-year-old Raef Uqael Mohd Rosli.

2. Question Lead

Write in a question sentence (like the question to the audience). However, the audience did not necessarily prepare the answer.

Lead 1	Kuala Lumpur: Are you willing to wait as early as 8 am to buy various items at a discount of more than 70 percent in preparation for Aid ul Fitr, even though Sogo shopping malls in the capital are only open at 10 am?
Lead 2	Should we bring the family shopping in the capital in the morning?

3. Narrative or Descriptive Lead

The situation/picture of the event

Example of Narrative or Descriptive Lead in News Writing

Lead 1	Seremban: The suspicious actions of two women in black hijab rushing out of a supermarket were answered when they were suspected of stealing various dishes at a supermarket in Seremban 2 yesterday.
Lead 2	Security guards sniffed the act of the two suspects in their 30s stealing the set of dishes before arresting them.

4. Contrast Lead

Opposite with the actor and event

Example of Contrast Lead in News Writing

Lead 1	KUALA LUMPUR, July 26-The illegal gambling activities that have seemed ‘silent’ in recent months in public business premises are still happening in exclusive places, including luxury bungalows, condominiums, and private clubs.
Lead 2	President of the Malaysian Consumer Protection Association, Datuk Mohd. Firdaus Abdullah said the activity was difficult to detect by the authorities because it used a secure location and only involved invitations.

5. Citation Lead

Statement from the sources (talk/seminar/press conference). I am starting with the “symbol. For example, the lead begins with a quotation mark.

Lead 1	Kuala Terengganu: “He told me to take care of myself and educate my children well before he ‘left’,” said Salihana Zawawi, 29, wife of Mohd Zawawi Seman, 36, who was found floating in the waters of Pulau Kapas, Marang after disappearing at sea together—three other brothers in Kuala Kemaman on June 21.
Lead 2	Mohd Zawawi’s body was found floating by fishermen at 5 pm yesterday before his body was taken by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement (APMM) to the Pulau Kambing jetty and handed over to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) Forensic Unit.

6. A straight lead or summary lead

A straight lead presents the story’s summary, showing the news outcome instantly. It gives the outline or a gist of the whole episode or article for readers who do not have a lot of time to sit and read can glance through actual headlines of the day.

Example of a straight lead

Kuala Lumpur: Celebrity entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor and her Islamic televangelist husband, Haris Ismail, have repeatedly come under police investigation after their alleged violations of the movement control order (MCO) made headlines.

7. A Scene Lead

A scene lead starts a story with an introduction and influences the readers to read the whole story.

For example:

Johor Bahru: Security guards are not scared of any unwanted situation of their responsibility.

8. Anecdote lead

It tells a short story to explain the whole story. This type of lead is used to describe a long story.

For example,

Penang: For the two-week lockdown, which starts on June 1, most businesses and services in Sabah, except petrol stations, hospitals, and central and wholesale markets, will be allowed to operate from 7 am to 7 pm daily.

9. Significant Detail Lead

A significant detail lead opens the story by focusing on a concrete detail that symbolizes the central theme.

For Example,

It was neither his family member nor friends who stole the politician’s car yesterday night.

10. Direct Address Lead

A direct-address lead speaks directly to the reader, using the second person. It addresses the reader directly as ‘you.’ It enhances the interest of the reader as it directly talks to them.

Example: “You might not get relief from the harsh winds as the weather will be the same for the next ten days or more.

In conclusion, the news lead is crucial for news and feature articles to attract audiences. It motivates the readers to read the entire story. Many passive audiences read only the headline and lead. However, an attractive news lead instigates passive audiences to engage with the article. The news lead generated according to the inverted pyramid structure influences active and passive audiences to read the whole article thoroughly.