Editing Inverted pyramid (journalism) (section)

==History==
Historians disagree about when the form was created. Many say the [[electrical telegraph|invention of the telegraph]] sparked its development by encouraging reporters to condense material, to reduce costs,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/12755/birth-of-the-inverted-pyramid-a-child-of-technology-commerce-and-history/ |title=Birth of Inverted Pyramid |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212223141/http://www.poynter.org/news/media-innovation/12755/birth-of-the-inverted-pyramid-a-child-of-technology-commerce-and-history/ |archive-date=2015-12-12 |access-date=2015-04-20}}</ref> or to hedge against the unreliability of the telegraph network.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Canavilhas |first1=João |title=Web journalism: from the inverted pyramid to the tumbled pyramid |website=Universidade da Beira Interior |date=2007 |url=http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/canavilhas-joao-inverted-pyramid.pdf |s2cid=40777446 |citeseerx=10.1.1.524.22 }}</ref> Studies of 19th-century news stories in American newspapers, however, suggest that the form spread several decades later than the telegraph, possibly because the reform era's social and educational forces encouraged factual reporting rather than more interpretive narrative styles.<ref name="errico">{{Cite web |url=http://www.scripps.ohiou.edu/mediahistory/mhmjour1-1.htm |title=The evolution of the summary news lead. |last=Errico |first=Marcus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218012026/http://www.scripps.ohiou.edu/mediahistory/mhmjour1-1.htm |archive-date=2015-02-18 |access-date=2005-10-06 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

Chip Scanlan's essay on the form<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.poynter.org/2003/birth-of-the-inverted-pyramid-a-child-of-technology-commerce-and-history/12755/ |title=An examination of the inverted pyramid |last=Scanlan |first=Chip |date=2003-06-23 |publisher=Poynter Institute |access-date=2006-07-04}}</ref> includes this frequently cited example of telegraphic reporting:

{{quotation|This evening at about 9:30 p.m. at [[Ford's Theatre]], the [[Abraham Lincoln|President]], while sitting in his private box with [[Mary Todd Lincoln|Mrs. Lincoln]], [[Clara Harris|Mrs. Harris]] and [[Henry Rathbone|Major Rathburn]], was shot by an assassin, who suddenly entered the box and approached behind the President.

The assassin then leaped upon the stage, brandishing a large dagger or knife, and made his escape in the rear of the theatre.

The pistol ball entered the back of the President's head and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal.

The President has been insensible ever since it was inflicted, and is now dying.

About the same hour an assassin, whether the same or not, entered [[William H. Seward|Mr. Seward]]'s apartment and under pretense of having a prescription was shown to the Secretary's sick chamber. The assassin immediately rushed to the bed and inflicted two or three stabs on the chest and two on the face.
It is hoped the wounds may not be mortal. My apprehension is that they will prove fatal.

The nurse alarmed Mr. [[Frederick W. Seward|Frederick Seward]], who was in an adjoining rented room, and he hastened to the door of his father's room, when he met the assassin, who inflicted upon him one or more dangerous wounds. The recovery of Frederick Seward is doubtful.

It is not probable that the President will live through the night.

[[Ulysses S. Grant|General Grant]] and his wife were advertised to be at the theatre...|''[[New York Herald]]''|April 15, 1865}}

[[Five Ws|Who, when, where, why, what, and how]] are addressed in the first paragraph. As the article continues, the less important details are presented. An even more pyramid-conscious reporter or editor would move two additional details to the first two sentences: That the shot was to the head, and that it was expected to prove fatal. The transitional sentence about the Grants suggests that less-important facts are being added to the rest of the story.

Other news outlets such as the [[Associated Press]] did not use this format when covering the assassination, instead adopting a chronological organization.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Izadi |first=Elahi |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/04/14/how-newspapers-covered-abraham-lincolns-assassination-150-years-ago/?tid=sm_fb |title=How newspapers covered Abraham Lincoln's assassination 150 years ago |date=14 April 2015 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] Style Blog |access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref>