An anecdotal lead is the lead of an article that tells a story. This journalism concept is important to my final article because if I write use an anecdotal lead, I will need to do it well in order for my article to benefit from it. Gene Patterson utilizes a captivating anecdotal lead in his article “A Flower for the Graves.”
“A Negro mother wept in the street Sunday morning in front of a Baptist church in Birmingham. In her hand she held a shoe, one shoe - from the foot of her dead child. We hold that shoe with her.”
This lead gives the reader a clear picture in their head of a gruesome and horrible sight. It still gets across the important facts of where and when the story takes place, but allows the reader to identify with the mother as opposed to a simple cut and dry lead.
Lead with sympathy. It gets the readers more interested in what you have to say. I read that anecdote and saw a clear picture that probably would have identified with the rest of the story.