Choosing the Lead Story
Our lead story this week was the coming rainstorm, which -- in addition to the usual LA hype over rain -- was even bigger news after all of California's drought problems. We all knew even before coming into the morning meeting that the rain would be our lead story. In fact, so far all of Thursday's producers have been on the same page each week regarding what should be the lead; this allows us to prepare multiple angles and be twice as productive during our morning meeting.
This week, the reasons for our lead package were simple:
- The culture of California (for Angelenos, rainstorm = tornado)
- Massive effect on local residents (mandatory evacuations)
- Visual elements (evacuation centers and fire departments would be great places for B-roll)
I'd like to think that those bullet points are three questions you should ask yourself every time you decide on a lead story. The first story of the newscast should be culturally relevant to its audience (as a college newscast, we have to cater these stories to a 20-year-old audience); it should have a significant impact on its viewers (WHY should we care?); and it needs visual elements.
Generally if it's a national story, I like to have maps, fullscreens, VOs or some type of sound to provide more context to the viewer either immediately before or after the lead package. After all, very rarely does a big story only have one angle. For example, prior to our rainstorm package, we also had a series of maps and lists detailing the locations of the evacuations and the LAFD stations where sandbags could be retrieved. Think: as a viewer, what else would I want to know?
You shouldn't have to think too hard -- your instincts are usually right.
