1.
For my first lede, I will be using a story that is huge around here;
For
a little background, Kevin Kotzur is the proverbial home town boy who
is on the verge of “making it.” He has gone from the local high
school hero and college phenom to now being so close to getting a
spot in the NBA.
The
Lede:
By
now, most people in the area have at least heard of La Vernia native
Kevin Kotzur. After a great high school basketball career for the
Bears, Kevin made a short move to San Antonio where he attended St.
Mary’s University. And it was at St. Mary’s that he proceeded to
rewrite the record books.
Taking
from the Power Of Leads/Ledes reading and applying the fundamental
concept of what we are trying to say and make the reader feel, I have
a new found critical eye to stories such as this. From a technical
standpoint it conveys some of the important bullet points of the
overall story. However, this is the story of a local boy getting his
shot. Everyone knows this story and this lede doesn't hit you with
anything powerful. It doesn't draw you in to read the long story
about the current mundane details of Kotzur's journey.
La
Vernia is a bedroom community in the San Antonio metro area. There s
a small fairly cohesive community and the La Vernia News speaks to
and for that community. I actually find myself looking at a lot of
their articles now and see sloppy work that does not draw the reader
in. It is not capturing the spirit of the community. In this
particular lede, I have been given data but I have not been told
something important or something interesting.
- For this one, a story on an article of critical importance to the region, our limited groundwater, caught my eye.
The
Lede:
More
than three years after San Antonio Water System asked the private
sector to develop plans for a new water supply for the growing,
thirsty region, the utility has decided not to use any of them.
This
lede works. Again, an issue that effects everyone in the region and
is part of life here. On the news everyday, not only do they give the
weather and traffic reports, but the daily level of our aquifer.
Central Texas is a magnificent place but we must be good stewards of
our limited water supply.
This
lede plays on the emotions of people in this region. It starts right
in with the time frame. We have been waiting on the edge of our seats
for solutions to manifest for our water situation. Everyone is a
stakeholder in this issue because water supply issues effects
everyone.
The
regulatory bodies, such as the one spoken of here, the San Antonio
Water System, gives lip service to the voice of the people, but in
the end, and this lede sums it up perfectly, after much time, isnt
interested.
This
Lede hits many important points in capturing the reader. It also gets
right to the point of instilling anger or negativity in the reader.
Nate, interested in the ground water lede. San Antonio is such a lovely area and I don't know why I was surprised it had major issues; so many states do.
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DeleteWe get so little rain here and depend on man made reservoirs and two large aquifers. The aquifers in particular are so sensitive and have a water cycle in the hundreds of years (a drop of water entering the ground can take hundreds of years as it grinds through the limestone of the aquifer and eventually comes out a spring) Given these truths, lots of people realize how we must protect them. They don't always agree on how.
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