The first three paragraphs of a story hold the most important information. They cover the most important parts of the
new story; who, what, when, where, why and how. However, they can also contain something unique about the story that might catch the reader's eye.
The paragraphs need to be one sentence, 25 words or fewer. The writers voice must be active voice,
rather than passive; this cannot be over emphasized. News writers are encouraged to use strong
verbs when writing stories and to avoid "is, there, are, were, am." Furthermore
the most important things should be in the first sentence. Poor leads involve quotations, questions and
clichés. A writer must keep the reader interested. Information reported should be relevant to the audience. Keep the boring stuff to a minimum.
