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In the time of print articles it was reverse: you would put all the info at top of the article and then the less important stuff at the end. That way, the edit
by wodenokoto 5y ago
In the time of print articles it was reverse: you would put all the info at top of the article and then the less important stuff at the end.
That way, the editor can cut the length bottom-up to fit the article on the page.
- Fatnino 5y agoInverted pyramid, I think I remember it being called when I was in school. I even remember some newspaper articles that clearly followed the principle. They are very rare now.
- acomjean 5y agoOur daily college paper had an Associated Press machine for stories we couldn’t send reporters to. You could cut those stories after the first paragraph or two and it would make sense. We called it “AP style guide” articles..
- NikolaNovak 5y agoI think Axios kinda sorta follows similar spirit. Headline, critical paragraph, then expandable So What and Background sections.
- teddyh 5y agoA.k.a. BLUF – bottom line up front.
- HPsquared 5y agoNow they have an attention-grabbing or contentious headline and first paragraphs, then right at the bottom of the article include the crucial information that means it's actually not a big deal or particularly unusual.
- meirelles 5y agoPrint articles is optimized for reading not ads or SEO. Sadly the incentives makes the reader experience worse.
- eru 5y agoPrint is totally optimized for ads, and has been since way before computers were invented. The ads just work in a different way (and arguably interfere with the reading less.)