Leads, Quotes & Nut Grafs...Oh My!

Key News Writing Components
Lecture/Handout by Ted Pease

1. About leads: Writing good leads is hard work. They need to grab the passing reader by the throat and drag her into your story. So leads should be:

Tight.
Short.
Spare/Lean.
Active language.
Strong verbs.
Focused.
Impact.
Answer the “So what?” question fast, before the reader can walk on by

“Always grab the reader by the throat in the first paragraph, sink your thumbs into his windpipe in the second and hold him against the wall until the tag line.”
—Paul O’Neil, writer

Here’s one of my favorite famous leads, from humorist James Thurber:

“Dead.
“That’s what Mr.………….

Or these two from Edna Buchanan, the famous, fabulous cop reporter from the Miami Herald:

“Gary Robinson died hungry.”

Or

“Bad things happen to the husbands of Widow Elkin.”

Remember the Fred Rule: This is not a lead: “There were 27 agenda items and…..” NOT!

“I look at leads as my one frail opportunity to grab the reader. If I don’t grab them at the start, I can’t count on grabbing them in the middle, because they’ll never get to the middle. Maybe 30 years ago, I would give it a slow boil. Now, it’s got to be microwaved.
“I don’t look at my leads as a chance to show off my flowery writing. My leads are there to get you in and to keep you hooked to the story so that you can’t go away.”

—Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press

from Best Newspaper Writing 1996, Sports Writing

(See Chip Scanlan’s column “The Power of Leads” at Poynter)

As a general rule, limit leads to one sentence, no more than 30-35 words. (BUT, break either of those rules whenever you have good reason to do so.)

2. About Quotes: Quotes are gems. They are jewels. They are where the writer gets completely out of the way of the story, they are where the reader can hear directly from the sources in their voice and tone and words. So don’t waste quotes.

Quotes should be language that the reporter can’t use, information expressed in a way that is clearer, better, more genuine, more effective coming from the source, MUCH better than any paraphrase could be.

In most cases, the writer can get the important information across more efficiently than it can be expressed in direct quotes. Use quotes sparingly, when they really are the best way to get the information across. Sometimes, the quote is essential. For example, no paraphrase could have done what Bill Clinton’s denial did: “I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”

A quote should be pithy, colorful, passionate, eloquent. Like this, from a woman remembering her sisters, who had died in a car crash: “They weren't fancy women,” said their sister, Billie Walker. “They loved good conversation. And sugar cookies.” Short, sweet, evocative, with personality.

Too often, undiscerning writers will quote anything.
• “The facility will reopen on Monday,” he said.
• “This will affect a lot of students,” the dean said.

SNORE!!!!ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

• Or dull partial quotes, which somehow are even worse: The police spokesman said the new policy “will go into effect in January.”
Ask yourself: Why does this need to be quoted? Is it better as a paraphrase?

Go to http://www.poynter.org and do a search for quotes. See Chip Scanlan on putting quotes on a diet.

3. About Nut Grafs: Nut grafs are the summary “nuts” or kernels of a story that tell the reader what the story’s all about. This is different from the lead paragraph, which serves a similar purpose but not as completely as the nut graf.

What the heck’s a nut graf?
From Chip Scanlan, Poynter Institute for Media Studies:
“The nut graf tells the reader what the writer is up to; it delivers a promise of the story’s content and message. It’s called the nut graf because, like a nut, it contains the ‘kernel,’ or essential theme, of the story. At The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporters and editors called it the ‘You may have wondered why we invited you to this party?’ section. The nut graf has several purposes:
• It justifies the story by telling readers why they should care.
• It provides a transition from the lead and explains the lead and its connection to the rest of the story.
• It often tells readers why the story is timely.
• It often includes supporting material that helps readers see why the story is important.
Ken Wells, an editor at The Wall Street Journal, described the nut graf as ‘a paragraph that says what this whole story is about and why you should read it. It’s a flag to the reader, high up in the story: You can decide to proceed or not, but if you read no farther, you know what that story's about.’”

A tried-and-true story structure is built like this
Lead — summary or narrative, grab the reader

The mystery of the dead squirrels of Myrtle Avenue was solved Thursday when LeRoy Jurgusson telephoned the police.

2nd graf—maybe lead needs explanation/backup?
Jurgusson, 58, of 94 Myrtle Avenue told officers that he feared the squirrels had rabies.
3rd graf — Strong, evocative quote
“Well,” he said this morning, “they were acting funny, so I shot ’em.”
4th graf — nut graf for context, “So what?”
Residents of the quiet south-end Hot Springs neighborhood had been increasingly worried over recent weeks as squirrel corpses began turning up on curbs and in trash cans....

4. About Walk-Offs: The walk-off is the anti-inverted pyramid. For feature stories, instead of petering out to nothing, try to end strong. Save your second-best quote for the end. Recapping the theme of the story at the end, or concluding with a strong quote that evokes a theme from earlier in the story, can give your story a circular feel of completeness. Do NOT, however, end your story with some kind of benediction.