Leads Analysis: Twin Cities courtrooms ramp up security

By Alyssa Anderson

"Security in courthouses was being examined across the Twin Cities before a gunman shot a prosecutor and a witness last month at a northern Minnesota courthouse."

"But now, local politicians are paying more attention to pleas to improve safety," as from the Pioneer Press.

In my opinion, this news lead works well as a hook for the story on courtroom security in the Twin Cities because it uses 4 news elements.

This lead is timely, because the security bump is happening following an attack in a courtroom last month.

The lead also shows conflict, because it reports a gunman shooting a prosecutor and a witness.

Consequence is shown in this lead, because the bump in security is happening following the shooting.

Finally, this lead displays proximity because the shooting was an in-state event, and courtroom across the state are raising their security levels.

The lead uses the 4Ws: who, what, where, and when, which gives it detail. However, it doesn't go into answering why, because that would be too detailed.