The NY Times
It’s 1953 and you’re the anonymous NY Times correspondent who’s detailed to report the discovery by James Watson and Frank Crick of the double-helical structure of DNA. You have a hundred words to ‘grab’ the reader, name the discoverers, convey the importance of their discovery and tie the story somehow to the US contribution. Try it … It’s not easy. Here’s real craft: the first three paragraphs of the NY Times story on June 12, 1953 (click on the thumbnail). The article does eventually use the ‘sprial staircase’ metaphor that has become a cliché. But at first it uses a metaphor that now seems even more surprising—and apt. The full article (as a .pdf file) is “available”:http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/science/dna-article.pdf from the NY Times.