Top Story: Insert Catchy Headline Here
In radio, it's called the lead line.
In television, sometimes it's called the lead, other times it's the scene-setter or anchor toss.
In the newspaper, it's known as the headline.
For the media, it's our first chance to grab a listener's/viewer's/reader's attention. Wielded correctly, it's a powerful tool that can be the difference between a memorable story, and the other kind of story. It can have the conviction to create a sense of "I can't miss this story." More and more, however, this "weapon" is not handled properly, and as is the case with any mishandled weapon, there are casualties.
Early on in my reporting career, I realized that the headline or lead line to a story is kind of like the "front door." Those consuming your product come daily and knock at your door. A good, compelling lead line, to me, is like swinging that door open as wide as possible. The person who knocked feels so welcome, they walk on in, sit down, and stick around for a visit (or to hear your story). On the contrary, lead lines merely stated as droning factoids is like opening the door just a little. Worse yet, it's sometimes like not answering the door at all. The news consumer who knocked doesn't feel welcome, or just isn't interested in hearing the rest of the story. You become the neighbor in the neighborhood that no one wants to come visit. A well-written, compelling, and engaging first line or headline gets the attention of the person you want to hear your story. At this point, don't you dare disappoint them with a poorly written story! We can talk about that some other time.
At the other end of the spectrum is the lead or headline that is unbelievable. I mean, it makes the story sound sensational! It is literally sensational. It's so over the top, most consumers see through it by now, but still, there are others who don't realized they're hooked on a bad fish until they hear the story and begin to notice an odor.
A headline or lead line, I believe, carries a lot of the weight of your organization's reputation. When you read the title "National Enquirer," need I say more? The headlines in that and other tabloids certainly get your attention. The problem is, they set you up for a story that's based on a very small nugget of truth, if any truth at all. In my opinion, one of the worst things you can do to one of your listeners, viewers, or readers, is get their attention with an overblown lead, and then make them sit through a story that never delivers upon the expectations your lead created. By doing this, you're adding fuel to the fire of "The media always sensationalizes things."
"Hey Brian, people come to my station/website because they want the full story. The lead isn't important to them."
Really? The last time you picked up a newspaper, did you really read every single story? Of course you didn't. Your eyes scanned the pages looking for the headlines that were compelling enough to draw you to that particular story. The same is true in broadcast media. If your first line is mediocre and isn't interesting, you should be able to hear the sound of TV remotes clicking to the other guy's newscast, or people in their cars scanning up to the next station. This can be a real bummer and huge loss for the people who consume your product, because many times, the story IS really good. It's just never read or heard because such little effort was made in getting people through the front door.
In television, sometimes it's called the lead, other times it's the scene-setter or anchor toss.
In the newspaper, it's known as the headline.
For the media, it's our first chance to grab a listener's/viewer's/reader's attention. Wielded correctly, it's a powerful tool that can be the difference between a memorable story, and the other kind of story. It can have the conviction to create a sense of "I can't miss this story." More and more, however, this "weapon" is not handled properly, and as is the case with any mishandled weapon, there are casualties.
Early on in my reporting career, I realized that the headline or lead line to a story is kind of like the "front door." Those consuming your product come daily and knock at your door. A good, compelling lead line, to me, is like swinging that door open as wide as possible. The person who knocked feels so welcome, they walk on in, sit down, and stick around for a visit (or to hear your story). On the contrary, lead lines merely stated as droning factoids is like opening the door just a little. Worse yet, it's sometimes like not answering the door at all. The news consumer who knocked doesn't feel welcome, or just isn't interested in hearing the rest of the story. You become the neighbor in the neighborhood that no one wants to come visit. A well-written, compelling, and engaging first line or headline gets the attention of the person you want to hear your story. At this point, don't you dare disappoint them with a poorly written story! We can talk about that some other time.
At the other end of the spectrum is the lead or headline that is unbelievable. I mean, it makes the story sound sensational! It is literally sensational. It's so over the top, most consumers see through it by now, but still, there are others who don't realized they're hooked on a bad fish until they hear the story and begin to notice an odor.
A headline or lead line, I believe, carries a lot of the weight of your organization's reputation. When you read the title "National Enquirer," need I say more? The headlines in that and other tabloids certainly get your attention. The problem is, they set you up for a story that's based on a very small nugget of truth, if any truth at all. In my opinion, one of the worst things you can do to one of your listeners, viewers, or readers, is get their attention with an overblown lead, and then make them sit through a story that never delivers upon the expectations your lead created. By doing this, you're adding fuel to the fire of "The media always sensationalizes things."
"Hey Brian, people come to my station/website because they want the full story. The lead isn't important to them."
Really? The last time you picked up a newspaper, did you really read every single story? Of course you didn't. Your eyes scanned the pages looking for the headlines that were compelling enough to draw you to that particular story. The same is true in broadcast media. If your first line is mediocre and isn't interesting, you should be able to hear the sound of TV remotes clicking to the other guy's newscast, or people in their cars scanning up to the next station. This can be a real bummer and huge loss for the people who consume your product, because many times, the story IS really good. It's just never read or heard because such little effort was made in getting people through the front door.
"Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings" - George Tooker
Reply to this