The lead of a news article is maybe the most important part of the entire story. It is the part of the article that gets the reader interested in what the author has to say.
A good lead usually answers the questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. The answering of these questions is what sets up the tone for an article and most of the time shows what kind of a story this is going to be.
There are two major kinds of leads that a writer can start an article with. The first kind is a hard news lead. This is where the first sentence is told in a serious tone, answers all 6 questions, and sets up the article to be overall serious.
The second kind of story is a soft news lead. This is where the writer uses creativity to make the article flow and appeal to the reader, not necessarily answering all the questions but letting the reader know that this story is going to have a lighter tone.
A typical lead is generally 25 words or less. Those 25 words can sometimes be the difference between a flop or a successful piece of journalism.
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Your article is to the point and well constructed. I like how you wrapped up the article by emphasized how important those 25 words are. As constructive criticism, you could take the "maybe" out of the first sentence. Excellent title - eye catching.
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