A lede is the opening paragraph or first few sentences of a news story, article, or other journalistic writing intended to grab the reader's attention and summarize the main points of the story. It often answers key questions like who, what, when, where, why, and how to encourage the reader to continue reading. The term "lede" is a deliberate spelling variant of "lead" used in journalism to avoid confusion with the metal "lead" used in printing. Different types of ledes exist, such as summary ledes that present all essential information upfront and feature ledes that set a scene or mood more narratively.