Abstract
A study of leads and other top paragraphs in stories in the AP, UPI, Scripps Howard News Service, and three major newspapers shows average lead sentence lengths ranging from 39 words (Washington Post) to 25 words (Scripps Howard). Lead sentences were longer than sentences in paragraphs two through four. The AP used more one-sentence leads (95%) than did UPI (77%). The author suggests journalists may be writing for themselves more than for readers.
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