the name of a ship or an airplane, give its type or
classification.
Impersonal identification maybe used in the lead
when the news subject consists of several persons
unfimiliar to the reader, such as groups or organizations.
Nonspecific whats, wheres and whens may also be used
depending on the news circumstances.
Authority is the source from which quotes and
information originate in a story. Like identity, it should
be used in the lead only when necessary. Never use
authority in a story when the source of information is
clearly implied.
The following is an example of a lead in which
authority is necessary:
Longer tours, fewer, shorter and
less expensive moves can all be
expected by Navy people for the rest
of this fiscal year, according to Vice
Adm. David Bagley, Chief of Naval
Personnel.
Attributing this statement to the Chief of Naval
Personnel gives it authority, because the admiral is in a
position to know and speak about such matters.
Contrary to popular belief, people do not believe
“everything” they read in newspapers. Many of them,
as a matter of fact, challenge any statement that conflicts
with their preconceived opinions. Using authority in a
story helps you overcome this natural skepticism.
Sometimes people will believe certain facts more
readily if they know or respect the person to whom they
are attributed.
What follows are two simple rules governing the use
of authority in a news story:
Use it when it appears that the reader may chal-
lenge a statement.
support or emphasis to the facts.
In the Navy, the authority for many statements is
frequently implied. If a story obviously deals with Navy
ships, Navy personnel or Navy equipment, it is often
unnecessary to use “The Navy announced today” or
similar expressions. If a newspaper editor feels a
statement must be attributed to the Navy, the editor will
insert the authoritative source. It is a bad practice for this
phrase to be inserted in every story merely for the sake
of using it or just to get the word “Navy” into the story.
It is also particularly bad for every news release to be
attributed to the captain or admiral by name, especially
when the subject of the story is remote from his
immediate interest.
transition from the lead to the body of the story is a bit
Use it when the name of the authority lends
2-16
For a wrap-up on preparing the lead, you should
keep the following four objectives in mind:
Present a summary of the story
Identify persons and places involved
Stress the news peg
Stimulate the reader to continue reading the story
THE BRIDGE
Assuming you have written the lead for a story, what
do you do next? In some stories, you will find the
awkward. To smooth this transition, you use a writing
device known as a bridge.
A bridge is a connecting sentence or paragraph
between the lead and the body of the story. Although it
is not always required, it can serve several useful
purposes. For instance, in the bridge, you can place facts
that are too detailed for the lead and too important to be
placed lower in the story. Note the following example:
Novelty Lead: For sale: One
guided missile destroyer.
Bridge: The Navy is thinking about
inserting this advertisement in the
nation’s newspapers. The guided
missile destroyer USS Benjamin
Stoddert, which is no longer fit for
active service, will be scrapped next
month.
Note that the writer used a freak lead to introduce
his story. The entire lead consists of only six words, and
the effect is good. The lead obviously would not be as
effective if all the facts were presented in the first
paragraph.
Abridge also can bring the reader up to date on past
and present events related to the story by the use of
tie-backs and tie-ins.
Tie-Back
A tie-back is a newswriting device that allows you
to refresh the reader’s memory about past events related
to the story being written. It frequently is used in
follow-up stories (see Chapter 5). Consider the example
that follows:
Lead: The U.S. Coast Guard
icebreaker Northwind, with the help of
U.S. icebreakers Glacier, Staten Island
and
the
Canadian
icebreaker
