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The tried-and-true news writing formula, established in 1845, still works beautifully for bloggers and journalists alike
Journalists and editors who report the news need to land key points in the first few sentences
News writers are some of the best content creators on the planet, and often, their preferred format
An inverted pyramid communicates the most important information of the story first in a section known as
When you use the inverted pyramid effectively, readers are engaged — even if they have short attention spans
➡️ (Want a video walkthrough of one of my pitches that landed me an article with Fast Company?
The inverted pyramid style came about as a result of Samuel Morse inventing the telegraph in 1845
The key points were communicated in descending order by diminishing importance, with the least important information coming
Here’s some good news: you don’t have to be creative or at the level of
Inverted pyramid writing makes you land the main point in the first sentence or lead paragraph, and
As you might expect, the inverted pyramid method is illustrated as an upside-down pyramid with three distinct
The lead — sometimes spelled “lede” — contains the most important information in your article
You are front loading details into the lead paragraph, or even the first sentence
Although the inverted pyramid refers to news writing or web writing, it can apply to other articles
A lead communicates the essential information of a story through the ABCs of journalism: accuracy, brevity, and
Detailed explanations are for essay writing; in a lead, we want the main points explained in short
The Associated Press (AP) is famously down-the-line in its news writing, and these posts include 6–12 leads in
The IRS said Friday that savers with 401(K) and similar plans will be able to contribute up
People aged 50 and over, which have the option to make additional “catch-up” contributions to 401(k) and similar
The IRS also raised the annual contribution limits on individual retirement arrangements, or IRAs, by $500 to $6,500
Long paragraph, but that’s the whole story! Notice how you got what you needed in a
The body of your story gives additional supporting details about your story, but if the reader were
The body might take place in the opening section of your article, before the first subheadline, but
It ultimately depends on the story structure and your writing style
The tall expands on the details or motivations explained in the initial lead with supporting details
They may reach the conclusion of your article and then decide to go back to the top
Let’s look at an example of how news outlets publish in the inverted pyramid format to
See if you identify the break points between the lead, the body, and the tall in this
Johnson and his girlfriend began arguing over drugs Thursday evening, Columbia Police Sgt
Three children, two 9-year olds and a 4-year-old, were in the home during the attack, Hammond said
When Columbia police arrived, Johnson was driving away from the Greensboro Drive home with the three children
When police arrested Johnson, they found marijuana and cocaine, Hammond said
net, Johnson has pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic assault three times in the past four years in
He was charged with theft last October in Boone County Circuit Court
He faces up to 40 years in prison and up to a year in jail in connection with
Telling the Story: The Convergence of Print, Broadcast and Online Media (p
Together, the two communicate the absolute essentials of the story; you as a reader know what happened
Notice that these details are still about the incident at hand
They provide the chronology of the incident in more detail, but stick to one scene
Then, when we get into Johnson’s background and criminal history, we are in the tall
Where the tall goes really depends on the writer’s style of writing and research
Practice the inverted pyramid style often and you’ll see your overall writing improve