A news story front-loads the who-what-when in the first line (the lede) and adds detail in shrinking importance, so a reader who stops early still gets the point. The inverted pyramid puts the punchline first, opposite of a joke.
Most important first
News writing flips the storytelling you learned in English class. Instead of building to a climax, you lead with it. The lede (first sentence) delivers the single most important thing, ideally answering the key of the five Ws: who, what, when, where, why (and how).
Arrange facts from most to least important. That way a reader who stops after one paragraph still gets the core, and an editor can trim from the bottom without losing essentials. It is a structure built for skimming and for tight space.
Weak: 'It was a normal Tuesday when suddenly…' · Strong lede: 'A downtown fire displaced 40 families early Tuesday, though no injuries were reported.'
- You have these facts: a water main broke; on Elm Street; Wednesday morning; 300 homes lost water; repairs expected by evening.
- Draft a one-sentence lede that leads with the most important fact and answers who/what/when/where.
- Write the next two sentences in order of decreasing importance (the pyramid).
- Test it: cut your last sentence. Does the story still make sense?
What you should see: You wrote a lede and an inverted-pyramid body, and proved it trims cleanly from the bottom.