Aug 14, 2005

Never the twain shall meet

Nut graf:
1. The paragraph that contains "why the reader should care" essence of the story.
2. A journalism term for the paragraph that contains the point of the story.

Example from "U.S. Raids Suspected Chem Facility in Iraq":
The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003 to destroy Saddam's purported unconventional weapons of mass destruction. None were ever found.

This, in turn, leads to the bloggers' obligatory disclaimer, to wit:
Both statements are wrong. Saddam's illegal weapons were one of several rationales for the war that were recited in the Congressional resolution that authorized it, and that were emphasized by President Bush in his various speeches on the subject. And chemical weapons from Saddam's regime have been found in Iraq on a number of occasions ...

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