Today's New York Times had two great examples of delayed leads being used in hard news stories. I found this to be interesting. It goes to show that newswriting is truly becoming more liberated, and that writers are using more creative and artistic ways to deliver the news to the public.
The story "Details Emerge on U.S. Decisions in China Scandal" by Steven Lee Myers and Mark Landler made use of a delayed, storytelling style in its lead, leaving the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" to the following paragraphs. This made for a reading experience that is more engaging than the inverted pyramid, albeit far less direct.
"U.S. Inquiries Trace Women in Colombia" by William Neuman and Michael S. Schmidt made use of a similar delayed lead technique. The lead immediately catches the attention of the reader, as it talks about prostitutes waiting to be picked up by men. The lead then ends in something of a cliffhanger. "But the next group of American visitors to walk in the door may not be customers at all" it says. This makes the reader almost need to read on. It's tempting and alluring. Unlike the inverted pyramid lead, this structure makes it so that the reader not only wants to read on, but so they have to read on.
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