How can you write a news lead that is informative without giving away too much information?

If writing for online publications, be aware of SEO to make sure your article will show up in searches for relevant key words. A literary title/lead may be beautiful but won't go a long way online.

Never worry about giving away too much info in a news lead. Giving away information is your job. The reader wants info as quickly as possible. The only thing to worry about is trying to cram too much into a single sentence when it's a complicated subject.

To me it's all about your audience - who are we talking to, and what will interest them? We also need to recognise the impact our language use has on our readers and how they read our news... I am getting tired of the clickbait stupidity and the over-sensationalising of news as it often just wastes my time. People need to feel their time is valued and their act of reading our articles is transactional - they get something useful for themselves in return.

Being informative is not questionable. Personally clickbaits disgust me, however one shouldn't top up the glass, or serve all the dishes simultaneously. Filling the glass later and serving later dishes is what should be done to keep the reader attached to your content.

News leads must inform, not "tease" the public. All leads should be investigated thoroughly and have multiple-source confirmation. Certain criteria and guidelines apply when thinking about not giving away "too much information". Source confidentiality, D-notices and field-journalist protections all require adherence to protocols; diplomacy doesn't go amiss either.

>>> WHO are you talking to? For radio, talk to busy people in-car, the #1 AM/FM listening location. >>> WHAT: Cost-of-living issues, health + safety, other “survival information” (weather is news). >>> WHERE: What’s happening in your signal pattern? And when The Big Buzz Story elsewhere, localize by asking sources “…if it happened here?” + Man-on-the-Street reaction. >>> WHEN: What JUST happened…what’s happening right NOW…what happens NEXT. Goal: Each newscast sounds different than the last. >>> WHY it matters to your listener. "You" and/or "your" are magic words.

Giving information should be the intention of any news lead anything else intentionally is reductive to the purpose of being a news lead. Simple! Also remove the bias it’s so boring and presumptuous the journalists perspective has any relevance in delivering the news. Again simple!

Use the famous MEMES to attract attention: Life Threatening, sex , children, food, money, etc. Front pages of newspapers are example: "baby stuck in crib, under patatos" = 3 memes. Spreads rapidly like genes.

Sometimes, a successful headline also depends on the surprise factor. Using keywords to take SEO into account is important, but readers receive such an amount of information that bumping into a surprising headline -not a clickbait headline- can be rewarding nowadays. For instance, when Paul Newman passed away, my headline on El Pais was, 'The movies' eyes are not blue any longer.' You couldn't tell by this headline what the article was about, but it triggered readers' curiosity; it became the most-read article of the day. Paul Newman's name was in the subtitle though, so that is also a key thing to take consider. You can write a more suggestive/creative headline and then give the keywords in the subtitle.

The 5 wives and one husband of course is the best news introduction. If the editor cannot use the whole story the first paragraph is already news. Since 1969 when Atty. Felipe Amores, editor, news department, International Bible Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses, held at Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines, taught me about news writing, up to this period I follow the instruction. Thanks for including me to answer this topic. With agape!

Don't read the minutes of the City Council meeting. Tell me when they're going to snowplow my street. Edit press releases. Most are verbose.

When delivery a story, make sure the needed details are given in order to attract the attention of the reader so that they can read the whole article.

Press releases are notorious for passive-voice. Rewrite using "you" and/or "your:" Instead-of: “Anyone who has seen a car matching that description is asked to contact the police.” Say: “If you see that car, call the police.” Instead of: “Anyone who feels discriminated-against because…” Say: “If you feel discriminated-against because…”

When writing articles, I tend to avoid using "you" and "your" and instead use a better sounding word to make the sentence or point stronger. Thus, making the sentence more Active.

Using quotes or questions works, but choosing the correct quote is an art. Asking a question has been overused in the clickbait internet world, but still, if you give it some thinking and don't try to fool your reader, a question is sometimes a good choice.

Quotations in the lead sentence are easily mistaken for statements-of-fact, rather than the opinion of the person being quoted.

If you were only allowed one sentence to tell the story, make THAT the lead; then details. Latest-aspect-first; what-happens-next (if known) last.

One needs to know the platform for which the lead is being written; digital, print, broadcast will all have different styles.

News leads can also be different depending on the publication. Writing for a Newswire is not the same as writing for a newspaper or an online magazine. Magazines allow for more creative headlines while a newswire needs to stick to the 5W. For corporate communications, my suggestion would be to embrace creative headlines as in many cases you are trying to sell a product, whether it is a humanitarian programme, a new technology gadget or some policy, make the reader think and wanting more.

Excepting more literary styles, consider that most readers won't read beyond the first three paragraphs. I consider those the lede, not just the first graph. The lede ought be clean and lean, and pack a wallop of information.

Using an active voice with strong verbs gains the attention quickly, while still only giving enough factual info to gain interest reader interest.