RFTM Chapter 9: Alternative Ledes

What is an alternative lede? It's a lede that is more creative, contextual and usually much more fun to write. It conveys an interesting idea or the essence of a story in a unique way. It requires intelligence, inventiveness and imagination instead of formula writing (although our approaches still require a devotion to the facts, as opposed to our feelings and opinions).

There are various types of alternative ledes, which we will look at with all examples being from stories related to the Cedar Fest riots that occasionally take place in East Lansing.Those types of ledes include:

Buried or delayed ledes. These begin with an interesting example or anecdote that sets a story's theme. Then it's followed by a nut graf, which in the case of alternate ledes summarizes the main point that the anecdote is illustrating, and provides a transition to the body of the story. (Nut grafs are a bit different with summary ledes; we'll get into that a bit later.)

Here's an example of a type of buried or delayed lede, which in this case is called a descriptive lede, which offers descriptive details that paint a picture before gradually moving into the action:

Joe Smith was enjoying a beautiful spring night with 4,000 of his classmates, drinking and partying and having a good ol' time.

The air was warm, the beer was cold, and most people were being cool about it all.Then, some people started go get a bit rowdy. A stop sign was torn from the ground. A pair of couches went up in flames.

And that's when the tear gas cannisters began to fly.

Nearly 2,000 students were arrested, and another 2,000 hospitalized after the annual Cedar Fest party degenerated into a riot that required National Guard intervention before being brought under control.

In this example, the lede actually is an anecdote that extends over the first three paragraphs, or grafs. The fourt graf is the nut graf (which, like with most alternative ledes, sounds very much like a summary lede).

The goal here is to emphasize context and humanize the story, before we get into the nitty-gritty.

Question ledes, appropriate when the question is brief, simple, specific and provocative, such as:

Got tear gas?

Nearly 4,000 MSU students were able to answer "yes" to that question after the annual Cedar Fest party degenerated into a riot. leading National Guard troops to fire tear gas cannisters to disperse the crowd.

The first graf is your lede, and the second is your nut graf. This is also an example of a suspenseful lede, where we create suspense or arouse reader curiosity or raise a question in their mind, offering an explanation in the nut graf.

Shockers are ledes with a twist; a startling lede that immediately captures the attention of readers, such as in this alternative lede/nut graf combo:

Drinking is a rite of passage at many colleges. At MSU, that rite comes with tear gas.

For the sixth straight year, the annual Cedar Fest party degenerated into a riot, with National Guard troops once again dispersing the crowd with tear gas cannisters.

Ironic ledes are similar to a shocker, but offer an ironic contrast, like in this lede/nut graf combo:

Joe Smith went to Cedar Fest for the beer. The tear gas was an extra.

The latter came courtesy of National Guard troops, who were dispatched to break up the party after it degenerated into a riot Saturday night.

Words used in usual ways can provide the basis for an alternative lede, like in this lede/nut graf combo:

When Joe Smith headed to Cedar Fest, he figured it would be a gas. It was.

But not in the way he imagined. Tear gas was used by National Guard troops to disperse party-goers after the annual celebration degenerated into a riot Saturday night.

These are just a few possibilities. But there are as many possible ways to do an alternative lede as you can imagine. As long as the method tells the story in the best ways to emphasize what makes a story interesting, relevant and/or useful, and as long as it's based and true to the context and facts of the situation, then it's okay.

Silly stories should be silly. Sad stories should be said. Be true to the facts.