Associated Press Breaks Tradition With Optional Leads & will start transmitting alternative beginning paragraphs for news stories, letting editors choose whether to go with the old-fashioned just-the-facts-approach or a snappier style. [...]
In the new communications landscape in which newspapers are competing against television, radio, Internet news sites, and bloggers to reach younger audiences less inclined to read the morning paper over a bowl of cereal,the ?optional lead?will help newspapers ?compete for eyes,? the managing editor of the AP,Mike Silverman,said in an interview with The New York Sun.
