Thank goodness for the explicit good nature of news article headlines. Otherwise, there would be no way of knowing what Joanne Beck's front-page article in today's Daily News is about until you read down to halfway through the third paragraph. Her article starts out more like a guessing game than an informative piece of journalism.
It juts out above the roof just enough to display one set of arched windows.
Wait a second. What is this it? How can you start a story with a part of speech (pronoun) whose sole purpose is to stand in for a previously established noun, when that previously established noun has not been previously established? Maybe we'll find out in the next paragraph...
Other than that, most passersby wouldn't even know it's there or think to cherish its historical significance.
So we're still not told what it is. More than that, we're introduced to "passersby" though we don't know what they are passing by. All we know is that it juts, it's got windows, it can be passed by and it has historical significance. Can you guess what it is? (Of course, the answer is that you shouldn't have to. This is a news article. Not a game show clue.)
But Genesee County Landmark Society is quite aware of it: the cupola affixed to the top of old City Hall.
Phew. There it is. It's the cupola on top of the old City Hall. But why the wait? Why do we have to wait three paragraphs to learn that Beck is writing about the cupola? This isn't a mystery. In fact, the story is pretty simple and truly best served being told in a simple manner. But... wait a second... what is the story? We don't even find that out until the sixth paragraph in the article, and it's not even stated explicitly. Instead, we read:
The group [Genesee County Landmark Society] has donated $1,490 toward the cupola's restoration. Add that to another $500 from the Historic Preservation Commission's city-funded budget and $600 worth of labor from Stafford Painters. It totals $2,590 for a restored structure that was pressure washed on Monday, scraped and primed Tuesday and given two coats of "Super White" paint Wednesday.
Why not start with that? Or something like it. Why not just begin the article: "Work started Monday on the restoration of the cupola atop Batavia's old City Hall." Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Now get on with the fun background stuff. Save yourself some ink, maybe some more room for photographs, etcetera. Maybe you can even expand your informative "So what is a cupola?" section.
Wait a minute. Do I see
Wait a minute. Do I see reporter types badgering each other and using the media to do it? Can’t you guys just hold hands and be nice? How can you get the news right when you’re always at each other’s throats? :-)
I'm not at anyone's throat. I
I'm not at anyone's throat. I harbor no ill will toward any man or woman. I have badgered no one. I desire only to give a few pointers on organized and orderly news writing, thus passing along the good teachings I once received.
The Daily News is an
The Daily News is an institution in the community, just like the City Council, County Legislature or the Mall Merchants Association. As such, it should be properly covered. The Daily News being "media" affords them no special privilege.
We see it as an essential part of the mission of covering Genesee County to shine a spotlight on the Daily News just as any other institution in the community.
We've both praised and criticized the Daily News at various times. From my perspective, we've been fair and honest in our coverage of the Daily News.
If Joanne Beck or anybody else from the Daily News cares to respond, criticize, complain, explain or justify, our forums are as open to them as anybody else. Beck or any other member of the Daily News team is more than welcome to register and comment or blog on The Batavian. As an adult, I presume Joanne can speak for herself if she considers it necessary.
The fact that Daily News management and staff members choose to remain silent leads me to conclude that they are none too troubled by anything we've ever written about the Daily News.
Of course, you or anybody else, are welcome to call The Batavian on our mistakes and missteps, as Charlie you would probably agree you have done at times. We do not consider ourselves beyond questioning and welcome feedback and corrections.
Pretty funny, Charlie.
Pretty funny, Charlie.
I thought it was funny. I
I thought it was funny. I like to see the reporters throwing down. :-)
Dont ever read any turn of
Dont ever read any turn of the century sensationalist news articles on microfiche then
DONT
Your head will explode
This is what I call -and I believe it fits the definition-
soft lede
Not everyone wants to read like a textbook
And what exactly is the big issue?
Who can't understand?
Why do people have to be beaten over the head before they take a listen?
"Can you guess what it is? (Of course, the answer is that you shouldn't have to. This is a news article. Not a game show"
Game show? HAHA
I think the contestants on those types of gameshows are intelligent
because of
their ability to understand quickly what is being talked about without being explicitly told
You seem to come from the school of
MAKE IT EASY ON THE DUMB FOLK and that school of thought is solely about the $$
Job Security
Make it too difficult for the average man and you lose business
Put the lede at the top to attract eyes. MAKE IT A SHOW!
The problem with this is that all you "business" students gradually LOSE your ability to
pay attention
If you CAN ....THERE IS NO ^%#@_*- ISSUE!
I wonder if you're hot over the fact that this person is most likely just as smart as you
gets her point into your brain
and yet not only does she not follow the same rules/procedure as you
you don't even know what book she's playing from
"How can you start a story with a part of speech (pronoun) whose sole purpose is to stand in for a previously established noun, when that previously established noun has not been previously established"
well, at least you know your keywords
"This is what I call -and I
"This is what I call -and I believe it fits the definition-
soft lede"
Plugged that into Webster's. No match. Wikipedia returned the same.
I'm guessing you meant "soft lead". It could be that it was Olde English. Not the malt liquor, but the style.
English, just like any other language, is a code. And when the code gets mucked up, so does the message. "We attack at midnight" carries a different message than does "we attach at mad night".
You won't find "lede" in
You won't find "lede" in Websters. And I've actually corresponded with Webster editors about this.
Lede is the correct spelling when referring to how a news story starts. Websters considered it too specialized for inclusion in the dictionary.
It's sort of a badge of true ink-stained-wretch to use "lede" rather than "lead."
Yes, and not at all in
Yes, and not at all in character with the rest of the misspellings and catastrophic grammar.
Damn, that's cold. You're a
Damn, that's cold.
You're a bit of an A-Hole, it seems
Who are you? Russ Stressing? Never heard of you
So
you're the self-proclaimed top &*($ in Batavia, are you
$(#(*$) Congratulations.
How do you see me, Russ?
What do my pages look like?
You don't read the book you judge by the cover, I understand
You don't know me
You don't know my character
You know me by what I have put down here at the batavian
Just because I don't play your game doesn't mean I can't beat you at several others
Not being the best writer doesn't mean I don't know werds.
You can't score above 105 without being a writer of YOUR calibre?
LOL You're a joke.
Keep bringing the world down.
English, just like any other
English, just like any other language, is a code. And when the code gets mucked up, so does the message. "We attack at midnight" carries a different message than does "we attach at mad night".
What?
Being able to decipher codes/languages/meaning not of your own is pretty good skill to possess
ifyouaskme
just think about it Someone
just think about it
Someone could have lost a battle
their life
because they were incapable of deciphering a message KTJ#)-&^ a little bit
".......
...we attach at mad night"
Captain WTF does this mean?
I don't know
I just don't know
RATATATATTTATATATAT!!
These entire set of blogs are
These entire set of blogs are way out of my league. I'm not smart enough to understand what's going on here.
This discussion is starting
This discussion is starting to head down an uncivil path. Let's not go there.
Some of the greatest writers
Some of the greatest writers in history happened to be indulgers of some form of malted hops beverage.
I have never heard of anyone being "discussed" to death or "worded" to their grave.
I am old, stupid and never get mad.