ABSTRACT
News reporting involves decision-making on the part of reporters, editors, and various gatekeepers who are part of the information process. How these decisions are made and the various elements of constructing a news story are the subjects of this primer for beginning reporters. “Hard” breaking news or “soft” feature stories have news pegs, the criteria of news value on which the story is “hung,” with a logical flow of information written in the inverted pyramid format. The most important information goes first, followed by what readers secondarily need or want to know, then works paragraph by paragraph through all subsequent details. The lead is the first paragraph of a print journalism news story. It not only tells what the story is about, it also entices the reader to read further. The chapter provides tips and examples of various types of leads, then concludes with a discussion of the importance of the Associated Press Stylebook in print news reporting.
