Our view of the important writer’s tool, the inverted pyramid, is as follows.
The Inverted Pyramid
Traditionally when you write, you begin with an introduction and foundation and gradually build to a conclusion. In journalism, however, you use an inverted pyramid style. Journalists generally begin with the main conclusions and progressively include more details:
* Conclusion
* Supporting information and relevant details
* Background and technical details
What is the inverted pyramid?
To understand what the inverted pyramid means imagine and upside-down triangle. The narrow point is at the bottom, while the widest point is at the top. The widest point contains the most newsworthy information in the news story. The narrow end represents the least newsworthy information. Begin by telling the reader the conclusion, follow with the most important supporting information, and then give the background.
Deciding what information is important is actually quite logical. If, for instance, you are describing your chance meeting with the Australian prime minister to your friends, you would not begin your story with inconsequential details such as: ‘I woke up late and had to skip breakfast,” and then add, “so on my way to work I stopped for coffee at Starbucks and standing in line in front of me was the prime minister!” In fact, you would be so excited that you’d begin your story with: I just met the Australian prime minister standing in line at Starbucks. That would be the “lead” to your story and this would be followed by the next most important information and finally the smaller details such as what you both were wearing. The lead is the news story opening paragraph. All good leads summarize the ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’ ‘who,’ ‘why,’ and ‘how’ of a story.
A practical example.
Here are some basic facts for a news story:
An accident happened.
An airplane crashed.
Happened last night—Sunday night at 9pm.
Happened in Los Beach, California, 2 miles south of Los Angeles International airport.
Airplane was a twin engine plane. It was a Cessna 310.
Pilot was killed.
The only passenger in the aircraft also killed.
Pilot name is John Smith.
Passenger identity unknown.
Plane crashed 50 meters from the Pier.
Plane was headed to San Diego, California.
Air traffic control said pilot lost control of the aircraft.
Pilot had 50 years experience.
The lead would contain the following information:
A twin-engine plane crashed near Long Beach pier Sunday killing the pilot and the sole passenger.
The next paragraph would give more details of the accident:
The Cessna 310 went down just before 9 p.m. approximately 50 meters south of the popular Long Beach pier only minutes after taking off from Long Beach airport.
The next paragraph would give more details about the victims:
According to air traffic control, the pilot, 50 year-old John Smith of Portland, Oregon, lost control of the aircraft resulting in the death of the only passenger on board.
Other details would be included in the final paragraph:
Smith was a veteran pilot of over 50 years. The identity of the passenger is still unknown. The plane was en route to San Diego.
Note the use of transitions that both connect to the previous paragraphs and add details.
Why use the inverted pyramid?
In the journalism field, editors often must make a story a particular length. As deadlines are inflexible and timeliness urgent, if a story is written in an inverted pyramid format, editors will simply trim the story from the bottom up until it matches the required length. The editor can do so knowing that all vital information will be contained in the beginning of the story. Also worth noting is that paragraphs are deliberately kept short. Short paragraphs best deliver information and looks best when typeset in a narrow column.
While especially useful in story writing, using the inverted pyramid format is useful for any writing that must make an important point quickly and clearly.
