Identifying Leads

Gabriella Torres

JOU 1100

Professor Naumova

March 2, 2017

1. Sergey Kislyak, Russian Envoy, Cultivated Powerful Network in U.S. (NY Times)

Sergey I. Kislyak, the longtime Russian ambassador to the United States, hosted a dazzling dinner in his three-story, Beaux-Arts mansion four blocks north of the White House to toast Michael A. McFaul just weeks before he took up his post as the American envoy to Russia

Type: Immediate-Identification lead

This was a very efficiently written lead and very effective because immediate identification leads are meant to capture attention because they are often based on famous/ important people so I found it immediately eye catching and wanted to read the article even though I had no previous knowledge of Sergey Kislyak.

2. Women charged with murder in killing of North Korean leader's half brother (CNN)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN)Two women accused of killing the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were charged with murder Wednesday.

Type: Multiple - Element lead

I found this lead to be very effective because it worked quite a bit of information into the first paragraph without being overbearing and hard for the reader to understand.

3. A simple plea: Let’s have Oscar-worthy movies in theaters all year, not just during awards season (The Washington Post)

Over the past 20 years, awards season has become an effective business model for small and mid-budget movies that otherwise might not get made within Hollywood’s blockbuster-centric system. When “Shakespeare in Love” won best picture way back in 1998, a new marketing tactic was born, one that leveraged public awareness throughout the run-up to the Oscars — culminating, if you’re lucky, in a big win on the night — to get free publicity for smart, adult-oriented movies without having to spend millions on big TV campaigns.

Type: Summary Lead

Though it was easy to identify the type of lead this article was going for I found it to be too wordy and not containing enough inverted pyramid information (who, what, when, why) to classify as a well written lead.