北京大學英文廣播電視新聞采寫課PPTLecture 2 News Lead

1、writing and reporting for the broadcast mediaby shang jinghuatypes of news lead direct lead (basic news leads) summary lead main-fact lead delayed lead (alternate leads)the functions of the news lead a reporter must summarize the most newsworthy facts in sharp, clear sentences a simple, straightforw

2、ard account of what happened. lecture 2 basic news lead checklist the questions a lead should answer sentence structure in leads how to write an effective lead avoiding some common errors breaking the rules rewritingchecklist for writing news leads is your lead specific rather than vague and abstrac

3、t? have you avoided stating the obvious or the negative? have you emphasized your storys most unusual or unexpected developments? have you emphasized your storys most interesting and important developments? have you emphasized your storys magnitude and its impact upon its participants and readers?ch

4、eck list for writing news leads have you used a complete sentence, the proper tense and all the necessary articles (“a”, “an” and “the”)? is your lead concise? (if it exceeds three typed lines, examine the lead critically to determine whether it is wordy or repetitious or contains some unnecessary d

5、etails. if your lead exceeds four typed lines, rewrite it.) have you avoided writing a label lead that reports your storys topic but not what was said or done about it?check list for writing news leads did you begin your lead with the newsthe main point of the story? (if you began with attribution o

6、r the time and place your story occurred, rewrite it.) have you used a relatively simple sentence structure, exercising particular care to avoid beginning the lead with a long phrase or clause? have you used strong, active and descriptive verbs rather than passive verbs such as “is”, “are”, “was” an

7、d “were”?check list for writing news leads is every name that appears in the lead essential? (avoid unfamiliar namesand names that require lengthy identification that could be reported in a later paragraph.) if a lead contains a quotation or a statement of opinion, is it properly attributed? has the

8、 lead been localized, and does it emphasize the latest development, preferably what happened today or yesterday?check list for writing news leads have you eliminated statements of opinion, including one-word labels such as “interesting” and “alert”? if you have used two sentences, can you justify th

9、eir use? have you checked to be certain that they are concise and non-repetitive? finally, have you read the lead aloud to be certain that it is clear, concise and easy to understand? backthe questions a lead should answer who? what? when? where? why? how? the questions a lead should answer traditio

10、nal: andrew a. kernan, 18, a student at central high school and the son of mr. and mrs. harry kernan of 1432 hillmore lane, died at about 3:30 p.m. tuesday when his car overturned near a sharp curve on state road 12. current: an 18-year-old student was killed tuesday when his car overturned while he

11、 was driving home from high school. the questions a lead should answer ask the following questions to determine. what is the most important information? what was said or done about the topic? what are the most recent developments? which facts are most likely to affect or interest your readers? which

12、 facts are most unusual?emphasized lead examples who: three teenagers, including a 14-year-old who is eight months pregnant, were sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbing and murdering a cab driver. what: teenage children in one out of ten american families hit, beat, stab, or shoot their parents

13、, according to a survey released monday by a university of rhode island sociologist.emphasized leads examples when: moments after two young women left a jewelry store monday afternoon, a salesman discovered that four gold bracelets worth at $1,840 were missing from a display case he had opened for t

14、hem. where: turbulent air 35,000 feet above the state jolted an eastern airlines jet last night, injuring 23 passengers and 3 flight attendants.emphasized leads examples why: desperate over the breakup of his marriage and financial problems, teddy bruce flichum killed his 2-year-old son, then commit

15、ted suicide in a motel room wednesday. why: because vandals had removed a traffic sign, two automobiles collided head-on at a high way construction site east of san jose thursday night. emphasized leads examples how: a 15-year-old boy in the country jail ripped part of a sheet from his bedding and u

16、sed it to hang himself from a coat hook in his cell. how: their bodies slick with soap, two young prisoners squeezed through an air-conditioning opening in city jail sunday night but were captured a block away. backsentence structure in leads most leads contain only one sentence. use two-sentence le

17、ads only when you want to emphasize an interesting or unusual fact of secondary importance. it is also impossible to summarize all the necessary information about a complex topic in a single sentence.combined multi-sentence lead into a single sentence two women robbed a shopper in a local supermarke

18、t tuesday. one woman distracted the shopper and the second woman grabbed her purse, which contained about $50. revised: one woman distracted a shopper in a local supermarket tuesday, and another woman grabbed her purse, which contained about $50.combined multi-sentence lead into a single sentencewas

19、hington john w. hinckley jr., complaining of restrictions placed by st. elizabeths hospital on his contacts with reporters, has asked the american civic liberties for help.revised: washington john w. hinckley jr. wants the american civic liberties to help him fight what he says are restrictions by s

20、t. elizabeths hospital on his contacts with reporters. combined the two-idea sentence into a single-idea onethe ilos committee on freedom of association will take up the case when it meets in geneva, switzerland, on nov. 8 and 9, according to stu smith. he is executive director of the capitol employ

21、ees organizing group.revised: the ilos committee on freedom of association will take up the case when it meets in geneva, switzerland, on nov. 8 and 9, according to stu smith, executive director of the capitol employees organizing group.two-sentence lead examples st. marys w. va. (ap) fifty-one cons

22、truction workers plunged screaming to their deaths tuesday when a scaffold inside a power company cooling tower collapsed and crashed 168 feet to the ground. nine of the victims were members of one family. ossining, n.y. (ap) joseph and edna reys were buried wednesday beside their teenage son, reuni

23、ted in death with a beloved only child. they had chosen not to go on living without him. sentence structure in leads use a relatively simple sentence structure: “subject + active verb + object”. deviate from that style only when you want to emphasize some other element of a story. do not begin leads

24、 with long qualifying clauses and phrases.revise the lead to avoid long qualifying clauses while a 42-year-old man was dropping off two women on west jackson street tuesday night, he was robbed and punched in the face by three youths who opened a car door and took his wallet. revised: three youths o

25、pened the door of a car stopped on west jackson street tuesday night, robbed its driver and punched him in the face. sentence structure in leads leads must follow all the normal rules for punctuation, grammar, word usage and verb tense. leads must be complete sentences and should include all the nec

26、essary articles (“a”, “an” and “the”) the style of writing headlines is not appropriate for writing leads. revise the lead party ends in tragedy as two die. revised: two 7-year-old girls attending a friends birthday party suffocated monday after climbing into an unused freezer during a game of hide-

27、and-seek.back how to write an effective lead be concise be specific use strong active verbs stress the numbers stress the unusual localize and update your lead be objective and attribute opinions be concise most leads should contain no more than two or three typed lines. slightly longer leads may be

28、 acceptable, if they are easy to read and understand. eliminate minor details unnecessary names precise times and locations unnecessary background information the description of routine proceduresbackbe specific good leads contain interesting details and are so specific that readers can visualize th

29、e events they describe. some leads are less interesting because they are abstract and contain vague generalities. specific and interesting lead examples miami (upi) a “grandmother-type” 71-year-old woman who became annoyed when a teenager blew cigarette smoke in her face on a city bus, whipped out a

30、 can of mace friday and chased the youth down the aisle, her spray can going full blast. tampa (ap) the parents, two lawyers, a doctor and a nurse looked on in tears as the respirator was unplugged. forty minutes later, 14-month-old andrew james barry died in his mothers arms.revise the lead by addi

31、ng more specific details a clark county woman is suing her former employer, charging sex discrimination. revised: a clark county receptionist who says she was fired because she became pregnant is suing an optometrist for sexual discrimination. revise the lead by adding more specific details several

32、agencies handle the large number of animals killed or injured on city and county roads. revised: each week, the humane society picks up about 50 animals killed or injured on city streets, and county employees bury hundreds of others at the spot where they are found. revise the lead by adding more sp

33、ecific details a secretary whose child was born handicapped is suing a medical laboratory for what she says was negligence. revised: a secretary whose child was born blind and deaf is suing a medical laboratory which failed to detect her exposure to measles. because of the negative test results, she

34、 decided to continue her pregnancy. revise the lead by adding more specific details the city commission has taken a step to combine the citys police and fire departments under one boss. revised: the city commission voted to appoint a director of public safety to head both the police and fire departm

35、ents.back use strong active verbs a strong, active, descriptive verb is more colorful, interesting and dramatic. avoid weaker, non-descriptive verbs, especially passive verbs, such as “is”, “are”, “was” and “were”. use the active voice. lead with strong active verbs pahokee, fla. a deputy sheriff wh

36、o was shot four times on a street in this town on lake okeechobee struggled to his feet and shot his assailant, who was trying to escape in the officers patrol car. revise weak non-descriptive verbs a 66-year-old woman was the victim of a purse snatching at a shopping center saturday night. revised:

37、 a man leaning out a car window snatched a 66-year-old womans purse at a shopping center saturday night. revise weak non-descriptive verbs one person was killed and four others were injured sunday morning when their car, which was traveling west on interstate 80, hit a cement bridge pillar and was e

38、ngulfed in flames. revised: a car traveling west on interstate 80 swerved across two eastbound lanes, slammed into a cement bridge pillar and burst into flames, killing one person and injuring four others sunday morning.backstress the numbers in the lead, reporters: when emphasizing size, magnitude,

39、 often report by revealing the number of dollars, buildings or other objects it involves; when describing a major storm, often emphasize the amount of rain or snow that fells; when describing a major fire, often emphasize the amount of damage, the number of people left homeless or the number of inju

40、ries. leads that stress the numbers pensacola (ap) a national airlines boeing 727 carrying 60 people plowed into pensacola bay on a landing approach late monday night, killing at least one. a power failure plunged new york city and westchester county into darkness last night, disrupting the lives of

41、 nearly nine million people.stress the numbers most good leads emphasize the impact that stories have on their participants or readers. leads that stress the impact two gunmen shot a customer in the chin while robbing a restaurant at 944 w. colonial drive wednesday night. a policeman suffered a brok

42、en leg and a concussion where his motorcycle collided with a car monday afternoon. backstress the unusual leads should not emphasize the routine formalities, they should emphasize the unique the action that follows those routine formalities. lead that stress the unusual a 61-year-old man says he rob

43、bed an ohio bank with a toy gun he even told the fbi ahead of time when and where because he wants to spend his golden years in federal prison. revise the lead to stress the unusual four fire trucks responded to a blaze in a home at 871 n. woodlawn ave. at 7 a.m. today. revised: a widow and her five

44、 children smashed a window and jumped from the second floor as fire destroyed their new home at 871 n. woodlawn ave. at 7 a.m. today.revised the lead to stress the unusual a local restaurant was robbed of $62 early tuesday morning. revised: an elderly woman who was armed with a knife and said she ne

45、eded the money to buy christmas toys for her grandchildren robbed a local restaurant of $62 tuesday morning. leads that stress the unusual a woman who claims several cans of peaches fell from a shelf and struck her head is suing a local supermarket for $2,500. lancaster, mass. (ap) a volunteer firef

46、ighter who helped pull four charred bodies from a burning wreck was told hours later that one of the dead was his own son, relatives says. lead that stress the unusual miami trials for motorist caught speeding by florida highway patrol radar units in dade county have been postponed because the devic

47、es were proven inaccurate in one case clocking a tree at 8 mph.lead that emphasize the unexpected miami (ap) nine-year-old jose pico thought he was doing a good deed when he chased down a hit-and-run driver and held him at gunpoint until police arrived. he still cant understand why he was arrested a

48、nd the driver was set free.lead that emphasize the unexpected gainesville, fla. (ap) when eddie lasco pulled a gun on julie black and robbed the hair styling parlor where she worked, she was impressed by his thoughtfulness and manners. a few months later, she married him.back localize and update you

49、r lead reporters localize leads by emphasizing their communities involvement in stories; they also try to localize stories that arise in other parts of the world by stressing the effects they have on their communities. reporters update a lead by stressing the latest developments in the story. locali

50、ze the lead the fbi reported today that the number of violent crimes in the united states rose 8.3 percent during the last year. localized: the number of violent crimes committed in the city last year rose 5.4 percent, compared to a national average of 8.3 percent, the fbi report today. localize the

51、 lead eight-three people were killed today when their jet plunged into a field two miles south of an airport in tokyo. localized: eight-three people, including three from this area, were killed today when their jet plunged into a field two miles south of an airport in tokyo. update the lead two men

52、robbed the first national bank, 1841 main st., of about $20,000 yesterday and shot a police officer in the chest. sheriffs deputies who received a complaint from an unidentified woman raided a poker game at a retirement home yesterday and charged eight men with gambling. updated: a police officer sh

53、ot during a bank robbery is reported in critical condition today at memorial hospital. eight men charged with gambling after sheriffs deputies raided a “nickel and dime” poker game at a retirement home said today that they plead guilty to the charge. localize and update your lead not every lead can

54、be updated or localized. if a story has no new or local angles, report it in a simple, straightforward manner. backbe objective and attribute opinions leads composed entirely of opinion or interpretation must be rewritten to provide more factual, comprehensive accounts of the news. a lead that conta

55、ins a statement of opinion must be attributed. attribution should be as concisely as possible and should be placed near the end of the lead. revise the lead into more objective one an afternoon fishing trip turned into tragedy wednesday when a 41-year-old mechanic drowned in clear lake. revised: a 4

56、1-year-old mechanic drowned wednesday after he apparently suffered a heart attack while fishing in clear lake and fell out of a small boat. revise the lead into more objective one speaking to the downtown rotary club last night, emil plambeck, superintendent of the city park commission, discussed a

57、topic of concern to all of usthe citys park system. revised: emil plambeck, superintendent of the city park commission, wants developers to set aside five percent of the land in new subdivisions for parks. revise the lead into more objective one it pays to be a friend. that is what clarence and edit

58、h grafton of birmingham, ala., have learned. revised: a retired minister has left his entire estate, valued at $28,000, to two friends: clarence and edith grafton of birmingham, ala.revise the leads into more objective onesschneider says his bill would modernize missouris badly outdated standards fo

59、r motor fuel.revised: schneider says his bill would modernize what he calls missouris “badly outdated” standards for motor fuel.smith, 38, lives in rural belleville.revised: smith, 38, lives in belleville. “blind leads” example the mysterious process by which green plants turn sunlight into chemical

60、 energy can certainly be harnessed to help man solved the energy crisis and world hunger, a university of kansas biochemist said friday. “when sunlight hits a leaf, it makes a small chemical battery,” said ralph christofferson. “if we knew the details of how that process occurs, theres no reason why