The inverted pyramid is the tried and true structure for news articles for decades, but journalists may turn to other storytelling alternatives in feature articles.

“The inverted pyramid was originally designed for the way a telegraph transmits stories, but became a useful mechanism for delivering news because of a format that prioritizes speed,” Professor  Jeanne Abbott said.  “It allows a reader with limited to time to get the gist of the story in a few seconds.”

Professor Abbott is an associate professor of journalism and a managing editor at the Columbia Missourian.

The inverted pyramid always puts the most newsworthy information at the top of the story in the “lede.” The rest of the information is arranged in descending order of importance. The inverted pyramid can be used for a multitude of breaking news stories —  crime, election results, sports events and many more.

“With more and more competition for time and more and more outlets for news, the need for speed is an increasing challenge,” Professor Abbott said. “Thus, the inverted pyramid design will probably never be abandoned.”

Abbott said breaking news is best told in the inverted pyramid format, but there are alternative news ledes, often when the news is not urgent and when stories can often be classified as features. These alternative news ledes include delayed ledes, suspense ledes and descriptive ledes.

A delayed lede begins with a clever or interesting example that illustrates the story’s theme. The news is placed in the second sentence.

• For example, here is a delayed lede from the Chicago Tribune: “IBM Watson once won $1 million playing “Jeopardy.” Soon it could be helping your doctor read your X-rays.”
• Top tip: When a journalist uses a delayed lede, the next portion of the story is called a “nut graph.” This “nut” paragraph in a story will carry the news.

Suspense ledes trigger the reader’s curiosity or raise an important concern.

• Here is an example from the Kansas City Star about the city’s baseball team: “To fortify their pitching staff, the Kansas City Royals reached into their past to aid their bullpen.”
• Top tip: The reader wonders why, so the next sentence should relieve the suspense.

Descriptive ledes paint a picture for readers before they reach the nut graph.

• Here is an example from the Washington Post: “ The night-vision image in the rescue helicopter showed a downed pilot in a life raft bobbing 35 miles from the Atlantic shoreline, but when Brian Fogle got ready to plunge down to him, the midnight sky and sea melded into inky blackness.”

For more information on news writing, check out SchoolJournalism.org’s News Writing training module.