Watch for hidden stories

Covered outlets and little signs limiting laptop usage at New York coffee shops led Erica Alini, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to ask the question: Might this be a pushback against job-hunters lingering in coffee shops? Her reporting found the answer was yes. Her editors put the story on the front page.

Today’s Tip: Pay attention to your surroundings. Consumer behavior often leads to good business stories.

“You never know where a good story is hiding,” Erica says. Erica says calls to café owners and other sources unveiled the trend. She then spent three days talking to café owners to see how owners tried to balance making nice and making a profit.

“Though I knew restrictions of laptops in New York weren't entirely new, the sour economy definitely seemed to have put the pedal on the metal,” she says. “Almost everyone I interviewed had introduced or tightened the restrictions since the fall of 2008.”

Writing Standout Ledes

Jonathan Weisman of The Wall Street Journal offers readers a snappy, relevant and insightful lede in his article about federal budget cuts: "With the budget deficit soaring toward $2 trillion, the Department of Justice has figured out how to play its part: double-sided photocopying." He narrows a list of 77 cuts by focusing on items with which his audience can identify: one-sided photocopies, unused e-mail accounts. And he creates suspense and surprise all within one sentence.

Today’s Tip: Look for the outrageous example that will resonate with your audience; it might just be your lede.

You can also employ storytelling techniques such as irony and suspense. Weisman keeps his audience guessing -- but not too long -- until his third-paragraph nut graf.

If ledes trouble you, seek out a “lede coach.” Early in my career, my business editor teamed me with a veteran reporter known for his crafty ledes. After a few sessions and some major rewrites, I was ready to fly solo.

The $4.9 Billion Man

“Coral Gables banker Alfred R. Camner is the $4.9 billion man.” That’s Martha Brannigan’s lede on one of two retrospective articles she did on the failed BankUnited for The Miami Herald. The articles describe how BankUnited provided fat salaries and bonuses for Camner and his family and paid his law firm, also run by kin, more than $30.9 million in legal fees. And now, the bank's failed lending strategy will end up costing the FDIC almost $5 billion.

Today’s Tip: Use retrospective articles to put current news in context. For publicly traded companies, look for sources such as investors with large amounts of stock or corporate governance experts, such as The Corporate Library in Portland, Me. SEC documents, available via the online EDGAR database, can help sort out executive compensation and family connections among company officials.

In this example, Brannigan uses a writing technique often employed by The Wall Street Journal – telling the story through one key player. In this case, it’s the bank’s founder.