Rebogue
Writing about leads since 2019
How a journalistic text begins shapes everything that follows. This is the one question this site keeps returning to.
Fionnuala Ó Briain Journalist / Researcher
The lead is the first sentence, or first few sentences, of a news story. It is also where most readers decide whether to continue. That single fact has kept me occupied for a long time.
I have worked across print and digital news outlets, editing copy and watching how different opening choices affect what readers do next. Rebogue is where I write about what I have observed.
What changes when a lead works
A weak lead loses the reader before the story has a chance. The difference between a lead that holds attention and one that does not is rarely dramatic — it is usually a matter of word order, specificity, or the decision about what to leave out.
Two angles on the same problem
Leads look different depending on whether you are reading them or writing them. Both perspectives matter here.
Reading leads as a journalist does
Most readers scan a lead without thinking about it. Journalists read leads as diagnostic tools — checking whether the opening sentence tells you who did what, whether the verb is active, and whether the second sentence adds information or just repeats the first.
Analysis on the blog
Writing leads under deadline pressure
Inside a digital news outlet, the lead is often written last — after the reporter has filed the full story and the editor needs something for the homepage. Understanding that production reality changes how you think about what a good lead actually requires.
News coverage on leads