How to Write a Hard News Lead

Busy people usually scan news articles, so write a lead that gives them the most important information first.

Hard news refers to reports of serious events and situations that have just occurred, called breaking news. The opposite of hard news is soft news, which includes human interest stories and features that have a newsy angle to make it current or relevant but not urgent or likely to become quickly outdated by changing events. Writing a hard news lead means giving readers the most important information -- the biggest news -- up front in a clear, brief statement of fact. It should be less than 30 words.

Things You'll Need

• A computer or pen and paper

Instructions

1. Collect the facts of the news event: the five Ws and the H -- who, what, where, when, why and how -- of what occurred. A hard news lead gives at least three of these pieces of information in the first paragraph, arranged in order of importance or for sentence structure. For example:

   Who: pilot
   What: emergency landing
   When: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday
   Where: outside Omaha, Nebraska
   Why: total instrument failure
   How: glided onto a cornfield

2. Start with the "what." You must tell readers what the news article is about. Arrange the other pieces of information in order of importance.

3. Include the "when" and "where" so readers know how current the news is and whether it affects them in their surroundings.

4. Note the "who," using a name only if it's a high-profile subject. In the plane example, "pilot" is sufficient because readers are unlikely to know him by name. If John Travolta had been at the controls, your likely would start your lead with the "who" before the "what."

5. Add the "why" and "how" to the lead if there is enough room.

6. Arrange the facts in order of importance to the audience you're writing for. If you're a reporter for the Lincoln Journal Star, for example, you might write: A plane crash west of Omaha Tuesday morning left the single pilot occupant uninjured after he made an emergency landing in a cornfield.

7. Fill in the other important details that don't fit in the lead when you write the second paragraph. For example: John Doe of Denver was en route to the airport in Savanna, Georgia, when the plane lost altitude after a total instrument failure. Light winds allowed him to glide safely to the ground and walk away from the crash.

Tips & Warnings

• The examples in this article are not based on actual events.

References

• NonFiction-Writing-Guide.com: Writing the Hard News Lead
• CubReporters.org: How To Write Good Story Leads
• North Carolina State University Student Media: The Lead