Lede

The lede or lead is the opening section of a newspaper story or encyclopedia article. It should summarize the key facts, on the assumption than many readers will want to know the gist and will not read further.

Charnley (1966) stated that "an effective lead is a "brief, sharp statement of the story's essential facts" (p. 166.). It should tell who, what, when, where and how.

Sometimes in feature stories in the newspapers or magazines, the lede is a teaser designed not to summarize the article but to attract the reader into reading all of it.

The spelling "lede" comes from journalism.

Bibliography

• M.V. Charnley. Reporting (2nd. ed. 1966)
• Ellis, Barbara G. The Copy Editing and Headline Handbook (2007)
• Walter Fox. Writing the News: A Guide for Print Journalists (2001)
• Linda Jorgensen. Real-World Newsletters (1999)
• Mark Levin. The Reporter's Notebook : Writing Tools for Student Journalists (2000)
• Buck Ryan and Michael O'Donnell. The Editor's Toolbox: A Reference Guide for Beginners and Professionals, (2001)
• Allan M. Siegal and William G. Connolly. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper, (2002)
• M. L. Stein, Susan Paterno, and R. Christopher Burnett, The Newswriter's Handbook Introduction to Journalism (2006)
• Bryan A. Garner. The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Court (1999)
• Philip Gerard, Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life (1998)
• Steve Peha and Margot Carmichael Lester, Be a Writer: Your Guide to the Writing Life (2006)
• Andrea Sutcliffe. New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage, (1994)
• Bill Walsh, The Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English (2004)