THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Keeping the ride going for the time being

The first thing you learn in this biz is simple.

Never bury the lede.

Yes, that’s the correct spelling when the word is used in the publishing industry.

Yiep, here’s the verdict from my handy Oxford Languages dictionary: “The opening sentence or paragraph of a news article, summarizing the most important aspects of the story.”

So, why isn’t is spelled “lead”?

Good question.

Let’s refer to my equally handy volume of Merriam-Websters dictionary: “The use of the alternate spelling of lead in the journalistic phrase “burying the lede” began in the 1970s. 

“Newsrooms began to use the alternate spelling to refer to an article's opening lines, distinguishing it from a part on the linotype machine made with lead.”

Ah, there you go.

Now, newspapers haven’t used linotype machines and what was called “hot lead,” for decades.

You probably know, however, that we have a pompous streak to our game, so we continue to toss out the word lede rather doggedly — probably because architects and accountants and bridge builders do not.

We’re special, after all.

Imagine the world-renowned novelist Snoopy, penning (well, copying) the immortal lede: “It was a dark and stormy night.”

SERIOUSLY, writers have an immense privilege, if only we choose to use it.

Consider Edgar Allen Poe’s lede in The Raven.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

“Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.”

One paragraph, and already you feel gripped in misery.

Newspaper editors have harped about good ledes forever, and they don’t want to be wrapped up in nonsense.

The editor for a New York paper sent a new kid to Pennsylvania to cover the infamous Johnstown flood in 1889.

The young reporter was aghast at what he saw at the stricken city.

The South Fork Dam had failed after days of heavy rainfall, and the ensuing flood killed more than 2,200 people, including nearly 400 children and 99 entire families.

The entire valley was ravaged, with houses and business completely washed away.

The reporter was deeply moved, and wanted desperately to convey the desolation and misery he was seeing.

Stories were sent by Western Union in those days, so after hours of thought and rewriting, the kid sent in his report.

The lede: “God sits on the hills overlooking Johnstown tonight.”

Moving, right?

The editor was not impressed.

He fired back a telegram.

“To hell with the flood. Interview God.”

Any discussion of ledes reminds me of a famous news editor who screamed at his staff every day.

“Short!” he’d bellow. “I want ledes SHORT!!”

Finally, one afternoon a reporter was sent to cover a traffic accident.

His lede: 

“Dead.

“That was Harvey Edwards on Tuesday. 

“He was struck by a cab at the corner of 21st Street and Second Avenue.”

Well, the lede was short enough.

Perhaps not appreciated by the Edwards family, but hey, it’s an unforgiving business.

OH, MY goodness!

All this conversation, and I just realized I’ve buried my OWN lede.

I mean, dramatic finishes are important, too.

But you have to set the audience up for it with a striking lede, then an entertaining or important follow-up.

I’ve missed the lede and the body of my column entirely.

I’d have been better off typing, “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Almost anything would have worked better than whiffing completely.

Apologies.

So, the news.

I’ve been thinking about trips I’ve booked — to Florida, and then Italy to visit good friends, and eventually to London for a couple of Arsenal games at the Emirates Stadium.

My head has been swimming with decisions since Christmas.

The big issue: I’ve been a free agent for a couple of weeks (the first time in almost a decade), working with The Press to decide if I should continue to write these columns through 2025 and hopefully beyond — or look for a professional home elsewhere.

Can I stay on the team, yet still take some time to do a few things that are on my bucket list?

Happily, we have an agreement.

I’m thrilled, since I love writing for the people of North Idaho, and receiving all your emails in response.

Let’s keep on enjoying it.

Hey, guess what?

I finally got to the lede.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron has been sharing his thoughts in the Cheap Seats and other material for The Press for more than eight years. 

He is also the author of 14 books — including a novel, “The Dolphin Dilemma.”

The Cheap Seats runs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, barring major news events.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”