“Gary Robinson died hungry.”

Why is it great? My mentor Ron Speer of the Virginian-Pilot liked the opening line of the Bible for Greatest Short Lede Ever. I go with Buchanan. I’m hooked with four words. I can’t stop reading. Not possible. I don’t know Gary Robinson, but I want to know more about why and how he died and why he’s important enough to earn top billing in this story. We learn that a security guard shot him after punching the counter girl at a fast-food restaurant. Edna Buchanan called her job as crime reporter at the Miami Herald "America's hottest beat." She was a master at deadline, and at the short, declarative sentence, skills that were awarded the 1986 Pulitzer Prize in general news reporting.