Girls' rule!

[jambalaya]

I like the write-thru better

By BETH HARRIS Ž
AP Racing Writer Ž

BALTIMORE (AP) — The ******* are back.
The best 3-year-old in the land just happens to be a filly named Rachel Alexandra.
Jockey Calvin Borel all but guaranteed victory in the Preakness Stakes and, boy, did she deliver, becoming the first filly in 85 years to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.
A rangy bay — as big as most of the horses she beat — Rachel Alexandra shot to the front Saturday and wasn’t seriously challenged until a late close by Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.
By beating him she ended any chance that thoroughbred racing would have a Triple Crown winner this season. Affirmed was the last Triple Crown winner in 1978.

I know you're joking but why make fun with a derogatory term for women?

In my opinion, the lede could have stood. The AZ Republic, from what I saw, left it intact.

 

[greenlantern]

On our Web site today in the carousel, we had a photo and headline from the story. We also only had the first paragraph as the preview.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

My paper used it.

If I'd been gettin' it out, I'd have opted for Baltimore Sun/Lexington Herald-Leader/somebody else.

 

[cranberry]

I rolled my eyes and shook my head when I saw it in my local yesterday. That story presumably got a lot of attention in New York and it still went out like that. Amazing. Double shame if the desk wrote that lede.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Wait, so what IS the girls' rule?

 

[Football_Bat]

Wait, so what IS the girls' rule?

Wouldn't it be negative numbers?

Think about it...

 

[ArnoldBabar]

This thread title is all ironical and ****.

 

[Small Town Guy]

I just noticed my old paper's Web version ran this lede intact.
It's not really THAT bad, just a case of a writer trying to get cute and missing. I've seen a lot worse.
I would have made the second graph the lede and worked from there.
By the way, it is amazing how many stories out there work that way. You knock off the first graph and, wow, there's a story underneath.

Some famous writer or editor -- and if somebody reminds me, it's going to kill me that I can't remember it right now -- said after you get done writing a piece -- feature, column, whatever -- you should go back through for one more self edit -- and kill whatever your favorite line is.

A little much, but an interesting overall notion.

My local paper liked that lead so much they made it their gigantic lead headline -- and then used a Baltimore Sun story instead.

I've heard/read that rule about the favorite line as well, but I'm not sure how much I agree with it. I think about some of my favorite stories that had memorable lines. I'm assuming those were the best lines the writer had for the story and I was always glad they didn't get chopped. Or maybe even in those classic stories, the writer had a favorite line that they did cut in the end but we'll never know unless they talk about it in an interview.

 

[jfs1000]

I just noticed my old paper's Web version ran this lede intact.
It's not really THAT bad, just a case of a writer trying to get cute and missing. I've seen a lot worse.
I would have made the second graph the lede and worked from there.
By the way, it is amazing how many stories out there work that way. You knock off the first graph and, wow, there's a story underneath.

Some famous writer or editor -- and if somebody reminds me, it's going to kill me that I can't remember it right now -- said after you get done writing a piece -- feature, column, whatever -- you should go back through for one more self edit -- and kill whatever your favorite line is.

A little much, but an interesting overall notion.

My local paper liked that lead so much they made it their gigantic lead headline -- and then used a Baltimore Sun story instead.

I've heard/read that rule about the favorite line as well, but I'm not sure how much I agree with it. I think about some of my favorite stories that had memorable lines. I'm assuming those were the best lines the writer had for the story and I was always glad they didn't get chopped. Or maybe even in those classic stories, the writer had a favorite line that they did cut in the end but we'll never know unless they talk about it in an interview.

I would say the point is, without your line is the story good or not? Strong writing, you should be able to eliminate almost any line and the stories strength remains.

My two cents. A one liner shouldn't carry a story.