February 21, 2005
The bad lede that never dies
Here is my plea to journalists everywhere: Please, unless there's some outstanding or ironic reason, do not ever start an article by declaring that its subject "never expected" something unexpected to happen. For example, don't follow the example of this lede from a recent Globe and Mail piece:
When Erika Ross lifted her shirt and unsnapped her bra to nurse her newborn daughter last month in Dufferin Grove Park, she never expected that people across Canada, the United States and even Finland would end up weighing in on it.
You know what would be news? If she did expect it. Imagine that: "When Erika Ross whipped her boob out in a park last month, she knew it would become an international affair." Well hot damn, get that woman a job at 1-900-PSYCHIC! But if that isn't the case -- if she never predicted this wildly unpredictable thing -- why is it noteworthy? How is this an observation worth putting at the top of the story? "Johnny Carson didn't expect to become a television icon and last 30 years as host of the Tonight Show," another article declares. Really? One man didn't expect to become a television icon? Stop the presses.
Posted by Jason Feifer at February 21, 2005 07:49 AM
Comments
I don't know, the first example bothers me way less than the second one, since the implied translation of the lede is "Erika quite reasonably never expected to become the subject of a news frenzy because she breast-fed her child in public, but people are idiots." The Johnny Carson one is moronic, though. If he had been working as a train conductor one day and became a television icon the next day, then, sure, go ahead and start your article with "Johnny Carson never expected..." But he was a comedian, and had hosted other TV shows. The exact outcome may have been unexpected, but if he never felt a general inkling of "Hey, maybe I'm going to be a big TV star", I'll eat my delicious chocolate hat.
Posted by Francis at February 21, 2005 02:47 PM
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