Journalism Basics: Is the nut graph always the second paragraph?

By Rob Golub

Is the nut graph always the second paragraph? No, not for me, and not for many working journalists.

This is an issue that sometimes confuses students, so let's hit it hard and early.

Journalism instructors sometimes teach that the nut graph is the second paragraph. This can be a great way to teach new journalists. You start a story with a hook, then have the nut. Like so:

HOOK: A sleek, black limousine stopped, and a women stepped out, much to the surprise of children at a local lemonade stand Friday.

NUT: That woman was Taylor Swift, who paid $1 for a cup of the good stuff, and gave four kids who were running a pop-up lemonade stand in North City memories for a lifetime, as she was on her way to her local concert.

This is a fine way to write a story. There's nothing at all wrong with a first paragraph hook, followed by a nut. The hook pulls us in. The nut tells the reader why we are doing this story – because a music star stopped and bought lemonade from some kids.

But it's important to note that this is not the only way to use a nut graph or start a story. We can also start a story with the nut. This is a best practice for breaking news. Here's an example from the start of a recent Associated Press story:

NUT: A person who jumped a fence and was on a runway at Denver International Airport was struck and killed by a Frontier Airlines plane during takeoff, airport authorities said. The collision sparked an engine fire and forced passengers to evacuate.

Person dies after being hit by Frontier Airlines plane that was taking off at Denver airport

A person has been killed after being struck by a plane on the runway at Denver International Airport during takeoff.

AP NewsMichael Casey

There are some journalism instructors who may teach that it can be helpful to think of a first paragraph like this as not a nut, but as a "lead paragraph that operates like a nut." That's not how I teach it. Rob and your journalism instructor are just using different words to say the same thing. Those words, "A person who jumped the fence ..." can be viewed as a first paragraph nut or as a lead paragraph that operates like a nut. I like to keep things simple, and I like to call it a first paragraph nut.

The nut can appear anywhere in the first several paragraphs of a story. When the news is breaking, it's the first paragraph.

Here's another example of a first-paragraph nut, again from the AP:

TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — The first plane carrying passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship left Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday for Madrid, where they will be taken to a military hospital.

Plane carrying Spanish passengers from hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship leaves for Madrid

The first plane carrying passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship has departed from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.

AP NewsIain Sullivan and Suman Naishadham

Why are we doing this story? Because the first plane with passengers from a sickened cruise ship are headed for Madrid. The rest of the story will relate to this.

More Journalism Basics

Looking for more lessons in basic journalism? More coming in the months to come!