3 common mistakes in headlines and ledes — and how to avoid them

Pitching great Leroy “Satchel” Paige was famous for his windmill windup, swinging his arm in circles before throwing the ball.

“I use my single windup, my double windup, my triple windup, my hesitation windup, my no windup,” he said, according to Baseball Almanac.

He began his career in the Negro Leagues in 1924. Because of Major League Baseball’s color barrier, he was barred from the big leagues until 1948, when he was 42. Paige retired in 1953, although he came back in 1965 at age 59 to pitch three innings without allowing a run.

Paige’s unorthodox pitching style helps illustrate one of three common mistakes writers make with headlines and ledes. We recommend starting a story by writing the first sentence and hed, as it’s called in newsrooms. It helps you think from the beginning about the news and why your audiences should care, even if you revise as you go. Yet sometimes something that usually is wrong is just the right touch, which we explain.