1.

The lede should be a single sentence of roughly 35-45 words that summarizes the
main points of the story - not a seven-sentence monstrosity that looks like it's out of
a Jane Austen novel.
2. The lede should summarize the story from start to finish. So if you're writing about
a fire that destroyed a building and left 18 people homeless, that must be in the lede.
Writing something like "A fire started in a building last night" isn't enough.
3. Paragraphs in news stories should generally be no more than 1-2 sentences each not seven or eight, like you're used to writing in English class. Short paragraphs are
easier to cut when editors are working on tight deadline, and they look less imposing on
the page.
4. Sentences should be kept relatively short, and whenever possible use the subjectverb-object formula.
5. Along these same lines, always cut unnecessary words. Example: "Firefighters
arrived at the blaze and were able to put it out within about 30 minutes" can be cut to
"firefighters doused the blaze in about 30 minutes."
6. Don't use complicated-sounding words when simpler ones will do. A news story
should be understandable to everyone.
7. Don't use the first-person "I" in news stories.
8. In Associated Press style, punctuation almost always goes inside quotation marks.
Example: "We arrested the suspect," Detective John Jones said. (Note the placement of
the comma.)
9. News stories are generally written in the past tense.
10. Avoid the use of too many adjectives. There's no need to write "the white-hot blaze"
or "the brutal murder." We know fire is hot and that killing someone is generally pretty
brutal. The adjectives are unnecessary.
11. Don't use phrases like "thankfully, everyone escaped the fire unhurt." Obviously, it's
good that people weren't hurt. Your readers can figure that out for themselves.

12. Never inject your opinions into a hard-news story. Save your thoughts for a movie
review or editorial.
13. When you first refer to someone who's quoted in a story, use their full name and job
title if applicable. On the second and all subsequent references, use just their last name.
So it would be "Lt. Jane Jones" when you first mention her in your story, but after that it
would simply be "Jones." The only exception is if you have two people with the same
last name in your story, in which case you could use their full names. We generally don't
use honorifics like "Mr." or "Mrs." in AP style.
14. Don't repeat information.
15. Don't summarize the story at the end by repeating what's already been said.

Rule #1: A straight news lead should be a single paragraph consisting of a single

sentence, should contain no more than 30 words, and should summarize, at

minimum, the most newsworthy what, where and when of the story.
Rule #2: The leads first verb should express the main what of the story and

should be placed among the leads first seven words.

Rule #3: The leads first verb the same one that expresses the main what of

the story should be active voice, not passive voice.

Rule #4: If theres a who involved in the story, the lead should give some

indication of who the who is.

Rule #5: The lead should summarize the why and how of the story, but only

if theres room.
Rule #6: If whats in the lead needs to be attributed, place the attribution at the
end of the lead.