"TEEN" ASSIGNMENT

Writing the hard-news lead and story
Audience: Community newspaper, online and in print.
Slug: Teen
Writing Tips:
In a crime or accident story reported on the first day, you will almost always use a hard-news lead.
Lead:Read through all of the information you have. Then think it through: What is the most important and relevant information here? What kind of hard-news lead should I use? Should it be delayed identification? If so, which elements should I include?
Support: What NEW, not background, information supports or expands on the lead? Also, what information do I need to set up the quote that comes in the next paragraph? Remember, our readers need a continuous flow from one paragraph to the next.
Lead quote: What's the best quote I've got here that also goes to the most important information?
Nut: In an accident or crime story, the nut graf is the chronology of events. Tell the story of how it happened. i.e. She went out with friends, they dropped her off…
Background: More about what has already happened or background for the event, if necessary.
Transition: A sentence or phrase that will bring the reader back to the news.
Body: Tell the rest of the story. How did they finally identify her? What's going to happen now? Are police looking for more information?
Be careful to use correct ATTRIBUTION: cite the source of your information
Length for full story: 300-400 words

FACTS OF STORY:
From your morning reporting as the cops reporter, you found out there was a death the night before. Here is what you found out and from whom.
NOTE: Students may remember this story as all the facts here are real. Although it happened a few years ago, for our purposes of writing a story, we assume it just happened this week.

SOURCE 1: California Highway Patrol, Sgt. Dean Adams
Date: Sunday: 3:02 a.m.
Victim: Victoria Marie Nugent Age:17
Address: 1515 Michael Dr. Newbury Park
Location: 101 freeway, southbound lanes

Driver: Lloyd Dean Davis Age 43
Address: 2121 Owens Blvd. Van Nuys
Not cited:

Victoria Marie Nugent, female, 17, was struck by a car at about 3:02 a.m. Nugent was walking in traffic lanes on the 101 south of Wendy Drive. She was unclothed.
Officer determination: Driver Davis was unable to see the girl in the lanes due to darkness. He was traveling at about 65 to 70 mph, within the speed limit. He was not cited. A portion of the southbound freeway was closed until 7 a.m.

SOURCE 2: Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office
Craig Stephens, deputy medical examiner:
Name of deceased: Victoria Marie Nugent, 17,
Location discovered: Southbound No. 2 lane when she was hit.
Cause of death determined by coroner's investigator: Blunt force trauma
Declared dead: 3:22 a.m. Sunday
Toxicology tests ordered to determine whether there were any foreign substances in her blood at time of accident.
Stephens said: "At this time, we do not suspect alcohol. Results of toxicology tests will not be ready for several weeks. "
Stephens did not rule out any other foreign substances, such as drugs.
Nugent was facing away from traffic when she was hit and she appears to have died instantly.
"Since she was unclothed, we were unable to identify the body for 12 hours, until her parents filed a missing person's report. There were no fingerprints on file and no arrest records. We didn't have anything to tell us who she was."

SOURCE III: Ventura County Sheriff's Department:
Sgt. Cedrick Sims:
"Nugent's parents filed a report with us on Sunday afternoon."
"Susan Nugent said her daughter had been to a party with friends earlier in the evening. She heard her daughter come in with friends at 1 a.m. Sunday. She expected to find her daughter in her bed the next morning, since she did not hear her daughter leave again. They waited, called their daughter's friends, and then at 2 p.m. Monday came to our office to file a missing person's report. They brought a picture from her high school year book."
"We knew about the accident and sadly, put the pieces together. It was their daughter. They later identified the body."
"She would have turned 18 next week. She had just graduated Newbury Park High School and was preparing to go away to college. We don't know yet why this girl was out by herself unclothed on the freeway in the middle of the night."