Get To Know 5 Different Leads with Examples!
- Janice Ooi
- Jun 15, 2022
- 3 min read
Leads, the first paragraph of a news which plays an important role. Leads tell the audiences the main point of the news, while still maintain the audience's interest. 5 different leads will be explained in this articles which are summary lead, contrast lead, punch lead, anecdotal lead and descriptive lead.
1. Summary Lead
Summary lead, the most traditional and common used lead by journalist. Summary lead contains all main information of the whole news article. Summary lead usually made up by most of the 5Ws (Who, When, Where, Why, What) and 1H (How).
The lead in the example article mentioned all 5W1H information as listed below:
Hundreds of tenants of a major wholesale apparel market (who) in Shanghai (where) refused to reopen their shops (what) on Monday (when) following a long closure because of the city’s Covid-19 lockdown (why) – unless landlords agreed to provide rent exemptions (how).
2. Contrast Lead
Contrast lead uses two different thoughts or two sentences that are exactly opposite to each other to make a strong statement for the news. The contrast can be made about a particular event, person or happening.
Based on the article above, the contrast lead is used to describe the two different sceneries of before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the street in New York is full of the sounds of car horns, idle chatter and the frequent rumble of the subway down below. After the outbreak of Covid-19 on mid-March, the usual sounds of the street has been replaced by the low hum of wind and birds. This shows the contrast of the before and after the Covid-19 outbreak sceneries.
3. Punch Lead
Punch lead uses short, forceful words or expressions to create impact. Punch lead can be used to grab readers' attention. However, it is rarely used by the journalists.
In the article, the punch lead is used when they applied the word 'FREE'. The news mentioned that specially abled persons of Dibrugarh are able to get free medical kits and rations from the Saksham Uttar Assam Prant. This will be the useful goods during the pandemic. Therefore, the punch word 'FREE' had successfully grab the readers' attention and creare a strong impact in their memory.
4. Anecdotal Lead
Anecdotal lead gives readers a hint about the article and slowly unfold the whole story throughout the news article. Anecdotal lead often used in soft news. It can arouse the curiosity of the readers and make them continue reading the whole article.
The article chosen uses an anecdotal lead to arouse the readers' curiosity and make them to read more about it. This article is reported about the effects of the Covid-19 in terms of physical and psychological. The common symptons of long Covid with the reasons had been determined in the article. Some solutions given by health expert to cope with long Covid had also be suggested in the article.
5. Descriptive Lead
Descriptive lead gives readers a picture of the actual scene. The article which used descriptive lead will begin the story by describing a person, place or event in vivid detail. Descriptive lead will create a visual impact towards the readers.
The article chosen used descriptive lead to describe the scene of Shanghai's lockdown. Based on the news article above, the author mentioned the number of people involved in the lockdown and how they struggle of it. The article also described the routine of frontliners. This allows the reader to create an image in their mind and imagine what situation is Shanghai's citizens facing.
News Links:
Contrast Lead: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/22/upshot/coronavirus-quiet-city-noise.html
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