headline - nagłówek
subhead - podtytuł, subtitle, a title or heading of a subdivision, as in a chapter, essay, or newspaper article
lead - the first paragraph of a news story
A lead is the beginning of a news story. Its purpose is to grab the reader's attention. It should
contain one idea and follow the subject-verb-object sentence structure for clarity. It should not
exceed 30 words.
hard lead - all the important information in the first paragraph (who, what, where, when and why)
Soft Lead- This lead entices the reader or listener into the story by hinting at its contents in a
brief narrative or descriptive form. It is usually used with feature stories or longer news stories
with a focus on the human aspect of a news issue. It is almost always followed by a nut graph
—a paragraph similar to a summary lead that states the news focus of the story
nut graph - the lead of your feature article (a paragraph that states the news focus of the story)
Feature Leads vs. Hard News Leads
Hard news leads put all the important information into the first paragraph, known as the lead. This usually includes the who, what, where, when and why of the story.
Example:
One person was killed and three injured when a car and truck collided yesterday on an icy section of Street Road in Bensalem, police said.
WHO: ONE DEAD, THREE HURT
WHAT: CAR-TRUCK CRASH
WHERE: STREET ROAD IN BENSALEM
WHEN: YESTERDAY
WHY: APPARENTLY DUE TO ICE
Feature leads, also called delayed leads, don't have to get all the important points into the first graf. Feature articles can take several grafs, usually no more than three or four, to lead the reader into the story, through the use of description, anecdote or by setting a scene.
Then, once that description or anecdote has been established, the reporter writes what's called the nut graf. In the nut graf you explain what the story is about. In other words, the nut graf is the lead of your feature article.
Example:
After several days in solitary confinement, Mohamed Rifaey finally found relief in pain. He would wrap his head in a towel and whack it against the cinder-block wall. Over and over.
"I'm going to lose my mind," Rifaey recalls thinking. "I begged them: Charge me with something, with anything! Just let me out to be with people."
The illegal alien from Egypt, now finishing his fourth month in custody in York County, Pa., is among hundreds of people caught on the wrong side of the domestic war on terrorism.
In interviews with The Inquirer inside and out of jail, several men described long detentions on minimal or no charges, unusually stiff bond orders, and no allegations of terrorism. Their tales have worried civil libertarians and immigration advocates.
The first two grafs lead the reader into the story by describing the plight of one particular prisoner. The next two grafs explain what the story is about - not just the plight of one man but hundreds.
Feature articles in newspapers usually must get to the nut graf in no more than three or four paragraphs. Magazine articles, being generally longer than newspaper stories, can have much longer delayed leads. In other words, they can take longer to get to the nut graf.
Hard news leads are generally used for breaking news, deadline-oriented stories. Feature leads can be used for more featurey-type articles that don't deal with a breaking news event.
For instance, it probably wouldn't be appropriate to put a feature lead on a breaking news story about five people being killed in a rowhouse fire. On the other hand, if you were doing a follow-up story about the problems rowhouse tenants have had in getting their landlord to remove fire hazards, a feature lead would probably work well.
Generally, feature stories are a combination of a number of elements:
anecdotes - stories
description - setting the scene, describing the person
action - showing people doing things
quotes - the more colorful and interesting, the better
background info - the five Ws and the H - all the info you need to fill in the blanks
context, perspective - giving the bigger picture when necessary
point of view - sometimes in feature writing, you can let the reader know what you think
and most importantly, the angle - what is the story about? what is its point? why should people want to read your story?
kicker - a headline placed on top of the main headline; supplements the main headlain; small letters
byline - provides the name and position of who wrote an article and the date when it was written; most often found under the headline but before the body of the article itself
chunking - splitting content into chunks of material; each chunk tackles a different aspect of the covered issue; breaking text into smaller chunks to help users process, understand, and remember it better; creating meaningful, visually distinct content units that make sense in the context of the larger whole
chunk - a piece or part of something larger
For example, a chunked phone number (+1-919-555-2743) is easier to remember (and scan) than a long string of unchunked digits (19195552743).
inverted pyramid - an idea to start with conclusion, and then build on how you came to that conclusion throughout the rest of the story.
AP style - Associated Press style provides guidelines for news writing
concision - using the most effective words
media studies - a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media
gotcha journalism - tactic of asking questions less to find out about an interviewee's ideas than to get a reply that the interviewer can easily twist and deliberately misinterpret in an attempt to damage the interviewee's credibility;
interviewing methods designed to entrap interviewees into making statements that are damaging or discreditable to their cause, character, or reputation.
spin - form of propaganda; knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event to influence public opinion
spin doctors - public relations advisors, pollsters and media consultants who develop deceptive or misleading messages
