If you spend any amount of time in a bar, saloon or public library, you may come across your fair share of journalists. And if you have the misfortune of actually carrying a conversation with them, sooner or later one of them is going to blurt out the phrase "nut graf." Now, before you start looking for the nearest exit or calling an attorney - relax. The journalist probably wasn't make a crude pass at you (still, it's not a bad move to eye the exit signs when in public with a journalist).
No, that journalist was probably blabbing your ear off about the journalist nut graf - the crux of every news story.
If a journalist's lede is his pick-up line, then his nut graf is when he asks for your number - it's the point where he seals the deal or not. It's the point in a news story, typically right after the lede (the opening graf), where the journalist summarizes exactly what the story is about. Who did what to whom, when and where it happened and how much it is going to cost taxpayers. What follows is the details of said events. Journalists typically like to follow the nut graf with a witty or poignant quote.
Nut grafs are
especially important for readers who skim the news and don't bother to
read entire news articles. They can get the gist of the entire article
in a single graf. Nut grafs force journalists to take every bit of information, quote, opinion number and fact they acquired in the news gathering process and then digest it all into a single graf. It's been said the only things harder is giving birth and making an Obama cabinet member pay taxes.
Essential, the fruit of a journalist's hard work and effort (and never mind the endurance of having to sit through an entire four-hour subcommittee meeting through dinner) is summarized in a few words.
Nowadays, this is called a Twitter update.
