Comparing leads.

I chose to compare the various leads of the story on 20-year-old Ali Syed, who shot three people before killing himself in Orange County, California, early Tuesday night. Here are the different leads I found:

Seacoast Online:

"A young man shot a woman to death in a home early Tuesday then went on a spree of carjackings and random shootings across Orange County that left two more people dead and three others wounded before the gunman killed himself, authorities said." 

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130219-NEWS-130219728?cid=sitesearch

The Boston Herald:

"A violent rampage that left four dead in suburban Orange County began in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday when a 20-year-old killed a woman in his home and sped away in his parents' car, authorities said."

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/west/2013/02/shooting_spree_across_calif_county_leaves_4_dead

The Boston Globe:

"The violence stretched across 25 miles in Orange County and was as brutal as it was fast-moving."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/02/19/shooting-spree-across-calif-county-leaves-dead/Wak2b1Ze6QToOreAO9K5EI/story.html

New York Times:

"A 20-year-old part-time college student was responsible for an hourlong early-morning shooting and carjacking rampage in Orange County on Tuesday that left four dead, including the gunman, the police said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/us/shooting-spree-in-california.html?_r=0

CNN:

"In the middle of a shooting spree that killed three people and unleashed terror on Southern California motorists Tuesday morning, Ali Syed told one of his carjacking victims to walk away, police say."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/justice/california-orange-county-shootings/index.html

Most of the leads seem to be summary leads, like the ones from Seacoast, the Boston Herald and the New York Times. They give the basic information and the pertinent details of the story: the who, what, where, and when. However, the ones that stuck out the most to me, are the ones from the Boston Globe and CNN.

The Boston Globe opted for a delayed lead with this story, only saying that "The violence stretched across 25 miles in Orange County and was as brutal as it was fast-moving," in a sort of scene-setting opening. I think this lead sets the Boston Globe apart from its competitors for this story because it sets a certain tone for the story and sends shills down the reader's spine. While summary leads are still well-written, they start to sound like a broken record after reading multiple summary-style leads for the same story; they simply don't have as much of an impact when you find yourself reading the same information over and over again. With a story as shocking as this, you don't want the reader to not care.

CNN's lead is a little different as well. It seems as if it's going to be a summary lead, highlighting some main facts of the story (the incident, the perpetrator's name, the location, and the time), it does something that the other leads do not. In this lead, we learn that "Syed told one of his carjacking victims to walk away." I think this one small difference makes a huge impact on the rest of the story, and how it compares to its competitors. It gives the reader motivation to keep reading because of the interest in this one detail that the other stories don't mention. Why did Syed give this carjacking victim the option to walk away after he had already killed three people? What does the victim have to say about it? With a lead like this, the reader feels compelled to keep reading in hopes of finding answers to these questions. With a summary lead, I personally don't feel like this level of interest is aroused. Summary leads gives you the basic information with little perspective, which is why it's important to create a lead that sets you apart from all the other reporters.

Leads are important because it's in this paragraph that many readers decide whether they want to keep reading--I know it's that way for myself, at least. Leads need to have a point of interest. With the summary leads in this particular story, leads that read the same way are going to lead to stories that read the same way. But, the Boston Globe and CNN provide a different perspective. While the stories may share the same content as the other stories on this incident, they present the information in such a way that the reader is kept interested in the story, and is more likely to use that same source for other stories on the same topic. Presentation is key with stories like this, which are heavily covered by multiple sources. You want yours to stand out, and there's no place better to do so than in the lead.