Need, Knead, Kneed a Lede

Minnesota—Diane Smith

So,why do we need a lede in newspaper stories?  What do we do to knead it? Give the story foundation and elasticity?  And when should we just knee it to the outfield?  Silly play on words, but this assignment represents many writers' struggles with these few opening sentences--including this writer's.

We have been asked to "post two ledes from our newspaper readings; one that works and one that could better [Jeremy Fox.]" 

The first lede comes from a wire report in the local newspaper; The St. Paul Pioneer Press and The Columbus Dispatch. The former is in print.  The latter is online. 

Article:  “U.S. halts drone strikes on Pakistani Taliban.” National and World Reporting.  St. Paul Pioneer Press.  St.  Paul, MN.  February 6, 2014, P. 7A. Print. 

Lede:  “WASHINGTON—The Obama administration has agreed to Pakistan’s request to stop drone-launched missile strikes except on al Qaida operational leaders while Islamabad pursues peace talks with local Taliban militants, US Officials say."

There are no commas as signposts in this lede.  Clipped, clear sentences would serve this lede better.


Two curious issues follow:

1.  The Pioneer Press has the exact same article for the first two paragraphs as The Columbus Dispatch has.  However, the Pioneer Press article closes with two completely different paragraphs from The Columbus Dispatch.  Perhaps this is why the Pioneer Press does not recognize the article as picked up by the wire service and The Columbus Dispatch does?

2.  The Pioneer Press headline uses the word “halt” while The Columbus Dispatch says “minimize.”  The Pioneer Press reference to halt, if the passage has been accurately understood, is angular.  The Columbus Dispatch reference to minimize is congruent with the story. 

As the lede is exactly the same for the two newspapers, the evaluation is subsumed under the analysis of The Columbus Dispatch. 

Article:  “U.S. agrees to minimize drone strikes in Pakistan.” The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio. From Wire Reports. February 6, 2014. Online. 

Lede:  “WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has agreed to Pakistan’s request to stop drone-launched missile strikes except on al-Qaida operational leaders while Islamabad pursues peace talks with local Taliban militants, U.S. officials say.”

On to the analysis. This lede is a hard news lede congruent with a hard news story.  Scanlon and Clark mentioned, anecdotal ledes are generally not used for hard news stories [Scanlon and Clark and The Poynter Institute.]

The lede is confusing.  Yes, the Obama administration is making overtures for negotiation.  What are those overtures in terms of drone strikes?  The Obama administration agreed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Shari’fs request to stop drone-launched missile strikes with one exception…”  What exception?  If understood correctly, the US decided to continue drone-based missile strikes against the al-Qaida operational leaders?   During peace negotiations with local Taliban militants?

 The lede: the foundation of the story [Scanlon and Clark and The Poynter Institute] would be better served by clear and concise statements—who is doing what.

Finally, a decent lede is reprinted from the Chicago Tribune in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  

“Good News:  America hits the lowest abortion rate since Roe v. Wade.” OPINION PAGE.  P. 15A.  Other Voices, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN [Article reprinted from the Chicago Tribune, no byline/attribution.]

 Lede:  “As president, Bill Clinton often stated his view that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” a summation that reflected the public’s generally mixed feelings.  Abortion rights opponents would certainly agree on the last goals, as would many abortion rights supporters.  So, the latest news on the prevalence of abortion in America should elicit approval from people who often disagree.”

In an age of polarization, on almost any given issue, this is an enticing lede and represents the story well, establishing foundation.  I have enjoyed reading the article and feel the lede is refreshing!  Instead of ranting about the need-for or no-need-for legal abortions, it talks about positive changes made, which preclude use of abortion on a voluntary basis; primarily for birth control.

A few random thoughts on ledes by a rookie. 

Scanlon and Clark say, an “effective lede makes a promise to the reader, I have something important, something interesting to tell you.”  Several ledes have been read today from various newspapers with differing styles.  Some editors require writers to present a brief, succinct lede, others allow the lede to wander for a few paragraphs—almost losing this reader.  The anectedal ledes are nicely done.   Regardless of whether ledes start with a quote, tell a story, or speak cogently to the topic, they all foreshadow things that go bump in the night.[1]  They offer prima facie information about the text and its meaning.  Writer John McPhee offers an elegant definition of the lede as referenced by Scanlon and Clark and the Poynter Institute.  “The lede is a flashlight that shines down into the darkness of the story, giving us a glimpse of what is yet to come."  That sense of mystery prevails.  We may know who did it, but we don’t know how or why. We may know what’s going to happen, but location, players, and stakes are not defined.  Nuance, suggestion, detail,  and facts propel the reader.

One doesn’t want to be lost in translation[2] and a good lede will aid in the comprehension of Katakana into English.   Criticism comes easily to someone who doesn’t write them well yet; moi.

So, some of the ledes are perfectly kneaded; elastic and flexible, flowing smoothly with the body of facts. Perhaps about two or three ledes need  a volley from the knee to the outfield, or discarded all together. The majority of newspaper ledes fall into the ‘surely acceptable’ category and necessary. Tempus Fugit!  Perhaps that’s the nature of the fast paced newspaper business; that just a few seem  almost perfect.  One can’t ruminate for days as with a poem or a work of fiction on a lede.  Heavy Sigh!    

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[1] Bulletin of the School Oriental and African Studies, 1918.

"To a people ... who ... believe in genii, ghosts, goblins, and those terrific things that 'go bump in the night', protective charms are eagerly sought for."

 

[2] Coppola, Sophia, Director/Writer.  Lost in Translation. Movie, 2003.