What makes a great clip?

This is an offshoot of the 'No.1 clip' thread.

What makes a great clip? What makes a story stand out from others? Do you go from a pure writing standpoint or look for stories with emotional pull?

 

Honestly...a good lead. (Or lede if you prefer). An excellent turn of phrase really helps. It says that, even if the story is thin - and God knows those late-night, on-spot files can be - the reader will be sold in those first few sentences/paragraphs. Something that makes them chuckle, or say "yep," or say "hmph" or, in some cases, "oh, horseshit." That tweaks an editor's knowledge of the craft and their recognition that people will read your story.

You'll hear other things from other people. God knows some 27-year-old out there just wrote the prettiest fuckin 96-inch feature you ever read replete with arias, interludes and a lyrical denouement that I could gut in half and lose virtuallly nothing, just like filmmakers today need damn near three hours to tell a superhero story that a comic book accomplishes in book worth of frames.

 

Maybe this is too simplistic, but: When someone in the story didn't want the story written. If there are one or more "declined comments" in the piece, you were probably onto something.

 

Something you couldn't find in any other paper, something that was brilliantly written and reported (concise, but colorful), and something that deals with a kick-ass subject.

 

A job offer.

 

Outstanding.

 

You just know.
You broke news. You got great quotes. You had a great feature angle. You gave an enterprise project the time it deserved. You had great access. You tackled an issue that hadn't been addressed or put a different spin on it.