This Just In! And In Again!

In a break with tradition, the Associated Press will now offer two different leads [the opening paragraph] for many of its news stories. One will be the traditional "straight lead" with the main facts of what took place. The other will be an alternative lead, which the AP describes as an attempt "to draw in the reader through imagery, narrative devices, perspective or other creative means." The AP says the alternative lead is an attempt to offer readers "something fresh so they will want to pick up the newspaper and read a story."

-- From a March 16 news item

in Editor & Publisher

Straight Lead

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress yesterday to consider raising the retirement age to help fix Social Security's funding problems, and he made it clear that benefit cuts should be part of any solution.

Alternative Lead

WOODSTOCK, Vt. (AP) -- Frail 113-year old Antonia Moore, believed to be the oldest person in the United States, sat up straight in her rocking chair, pushed a wisp of gray hair out of her eyes yesterday and said she didn't know if she could return to the clerical job she retired from nearly five decades ago. Moore, who has voted in every one of the past 21 presidential elections, may have to dust off her résumé if federal lawmakers raise the retirement age as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested in congressional testimony yesterday. No legislator has publicly called for eliminating retirement entirely, but no one has yet ruled it out . . .

Straight Lead

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled hearings later this week to look into the growing problem of identity theft. In the past month, at least three major companies have suffered security breaches in databases containing consumer records including credit card information.

Alternative Lead

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Do any of these numbers look familiar? Visa Platinum 9223-5476-0856-9876 (Expiration 06/07), MasterCard Gold 9222 7598 7023 9476 (Expiration 06/05), American Express Centurion Black 8545 98768 5365 93878 (Expires 12/08)? If so, you're cooked. You're one of the growing number of Americans who have had their credit card information stolen and made available to potential thieves. Now what do you do? (Please turn to Page 19C . . .)

Straight Lead

BOSTON (AP) -- In a seven-year study of thousands of patients with heart disease and diabetes, researchers found that Vitamin E supplements failed to cut the rate of heart attacks, and in some cases, actually increased the risk of heart failure.

Alternative Lead