L e a d : N a v y d o c t o r s a r e
MacDonald is free from the arctic ice
pack that threatened to maroon it until
next summer.
Bridge (used as a tie-back):
Northwind was making the trip back
from an attempt to resupply the
research station ice-island T-3 when it
began experiencing difficulties in the
polar ice. The ice was so severe the ship
lost a blade on its starboard propeller
and cracked its hull.
Body: The relief ships punched
their way through. . . .
Tie-In
A tie-in is similar to a tie-back, except it provides
information concerning other events that are currently
taking place and that supplement the story being written.
While the tie-back deals with the past, the tie-in deals
with present events. Consider the following example:
investigating an outbreak of 17 cases
of scarlet fever aboard the destroyer
USS Balast, a Norfolk-based ship
operating in the Mediterranean.
B r i d g e (used as a tie-in):
Meanwhile, measures are being taken
to prevent further outbreaks of the
disease on other Navy ships. Navy
personnel have been warned to report
to shipboard sick bays immediately if
they find themselves suffering from
fever, sore throat or rashes on the neck
and upper chest.
Body: The first case of scarlet
fever was reported aboard the Balast
April 27, about three weeks after the
ship left Norfolk. Doctors said . . .
The tie-in can explain or elaborate on one or more
of the summary facts, usually why or how. In writing a
summary lead, you may find that it becomes long and
unwieldy if you try to include a detailed explanation of
why and how. But if the explanation is important
enough, instead of withholding it until the body of the
story, present it in the bridge as in the example that
follows:
Summary Lead: The Navy will
.
begin replacing its time-tested manila
lines July 1 with a synthetic product of
modern progress — nylon rope.
Bridge (explaining “why”): After
months of study and experimentation,
the Ships Systems Command has
found that nylon rope is superior to
manila line in strength, durability and
elasticity.
If you have to include the information from these
two sentences in your lead, it would become
unnecessarily long and cumbersome. By explaining the
why in the bridge, you present the information more
clearly and make the story more readable. It can provide
continuity and a smooth transition from the lead to the
body of the story by bringing in one or more secondary,
but significant, facts. Note the following example:
Lead: From now on, all of the
accounting for the Navy’s vast network
of ship’s stores will go untouched by
human hands.
Bridge: CompuNav, an electronic
data processing system, will do the job
— and do it cheaper too.
Body: The CompuNav file
computer was unveiled today. . . .
The bridge in this story is strictly a transitional
device that helps close the gap between the lead and the
body of the story. Reread these sentences again. Note
how awkward the story would be if the bridge were
omitted.
THE BODY
For you to produce a smooth, final story, the lead
and body must coincide. The body is the detailed portion
of a news story that develops and explains the facts
outlined in the lead (and in the bridge, if there is a
bridge). Here again, the importance of a neatly tailored
lead cannot be overemphasized. A cumbersome lead is
most often followed by a cumbersome body. But when
a lead has done its job, it will usually provide an outline
for the orderly organization of facts in the body of the
story.
To some extent the organization of the body is
dictated by the material itself —if it is a series of events,
for instance. So the writer has to write an orderly,
well-organized story and at the same time keep in mind
the relative importance of various details.
Guided by the idea of news importance, the writer
proceeds through the story by selecting the next most
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