This was a lede that went in that direction:
The Lansing School Board discussed several issues at its meeting last night.
The
problem here is that the news isn't that the school board addressed
items; it's what the items were that were addressed. From this lede, you
don't know if they gave out ribbons to old ladies or declared war on
Russia. It's too vague. Those ledes sound like this imaginary football game story lede:
The MSU football team played a game Saturday night.
And that's a lede we'd never write, right? This next lede was better in that regard:
The MSU football team played a game Saturday night.
And that's a lede we'd never write, right? This next lede was better in that regard:
The
Lansing School Board discussed its budget, evolution vs.
creationism in textbooks and summer school at its meeting last night.
You do
identify what the issues were, but it still falls short of ultimate
outcome and end result; that being what actions they took regarding
these issues: for example, with the school meeting you note they approved a new budget, considered textbooks, and rejected canceling summer school.
That lede sounds like this modified game lede:
The MSU football team played Notre Dame Saturday night.
And that lede still doesn't go far enough toward ultimate outcome and end result.
This modified football lede does:
The MSU football team beat Notre Dame 63-0 Saturday night.
So, now let's apply that same fixation on end result on this school board lede:
The Lansing School Board approved a new budget and voted to keep evolution-based textbooks and summer school at its meeting last night.
That lede sounds like this modified game lede:
The MSU football team played Notre Dame Saturday night.
And that lede still doesn't go far enough toward ultimate outcome and end result.
This modified football lede does:
The MSU football team beat Notre Dame 63-0 Saturday night.
So, now let's apply that same fixation on end result on this school board lede:
The Lansing School Board approved a new budget and voted to keep evolution-based textbooks and summer school at its meeting last night.
Much better, right? You now know precisely how things ended.
But it wasn't necessary that you include every element in your lede. A big
part of journalism is deciding what is most newsworthy, and ranking that
news accordingly (or even excluding things if you feel the
newsworthiness was limited or simply not there).
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