Lede of the Week

I thought it would have been relatively easy to find a lede that actually got my attention and kept my interest so much so that I finished the entire story. It shocked me that when I simply glimpsed at a lede I knew whether it would get my attention or not.

I eventually narrowed my search down to two ledes but even then I was still not sure which one was more effective in keeping my interest. What made me unsure was the fact that both the stories were based on topics that intrigued me, and I would have read them regardless of how good the lede to the story was. This became a problem because I didn't know whether the ledes grabbed my interest simply because I liked the topics of the story or if they really were good ledes.

The first one was a basic news lede. I really appreciate those types of ledes for the reason that they delve straight into the issue and they are very concise. The second was a basic news lede as well but it had a little more flair and humor than the previous.

I evetually decided that the lede I liked best was: "Paleontologists said Thursday that they had discovered what amounted to a miniature prototype of Tyrannosaurus rex, complete with the oversize head, powerful jaws, long legs — and, as every schoolchild knows, puny arms — that were hallmarks of the king of the dinosaurs." This was from the story 'Fossil Find Challenges Theories on T. Rex'.

This lede was effective because it used so much imagery. This was the aspect that drew me in the most. The description of the T-Rex tapped into my desire to be educated about something that was still seemingly unknown. It's stories like these that get the readers excited about what is going on in the scientific world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/science/18dinosaur.html?ref=science