ABSTRACT
The purpose of the lead often is explained in terms of function: It is there to hook the reader, to get him or her to read the rest of the story. Anyway, with modern newspaper design, it would be more true to say that it is the headline, or the headline together with the deck, that expanded headline which comes between the regular headline and actual text, that hooks the reader. A graphic designer, too, might say that it is proper layout and good artwork that hooks the reader. Characters and concepts, but also style and tone introduced in the lead, should be carried through the story; you must get the rest of your story up to the level of your brilliant lead, or your story isn't ready for publication. A good summary lead is better than a bad version of any other type of lead you can write; especially overly long anecdotal leads or overly florid descriptive leads.
