Send to a Friend

Kraigmo's avatar

Do you ever skip the first couple paragraphs of a newspaper or magazine article to get past the introductory fluff BS?

The rule is pounded into our heads in school: “Always start with an introduction in your papers”.
It seems to me this concept has been carried way too far.
For example if a meteor hit Los Angeles, this is how the LA Times would form their lede:
“Thelma Burgess was washing dishes in her Laurel Canyon kitchen when a bright light appeared in the distance….”

Reporters are trained to “come up with a story” to “make it personal to the reader”.
I say this training is overthought crap. Just get to the point.
We don’t need introductory crap. We don’t need hard facts to be written in a story-style narrative. It may please newsroom editors, but it doesn’t please readers.
What do you think?

Using Fluther

or

Using Email

Separate multiple emails with commas.
We’ll only use these emails for this message.

Mobile | Desktop


Send Feedback   

`