Main page leads are the five featured articles displayed prominently on the Wikinews main page.
As a news site, keeping these leads updated with the most recently published articles is an important part of the publishing workflow. Highlighting newly published work on the main page ensures that articles reach more readers who may visit the site directly.
Typically, the reviewer who publishes an article also updates the leads. However, if you notice that your article hasn't been added, or suspect it might be overlooked, you can politely ping the reviewer with the link on the talk page.
A 10-man Preston North End club and Coventry City drew 1-1 in a football match on Tuesday, in Deepdale, Lancashire with an attendance of 18,477 people. At halftime the score was 0-0.
On Thursday, the European Broadcasting Union confirmed Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. In response, four countries, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia withdrew from the 2026 contest, citing a "loss" of neutrality and the humanitarian impact due to the war in Gaza.
On November 21, flutist Robert Dick and double bassist Mark Dresser reunited for a performance at the Fridman Gallery in New York City. Dick and Dresser started playing together in the 1980s, in various combinations as a duo or with other players also involved.
On November 29, a liquor store employee in Ashland was surprised to find many smashed bottles on the floor and their contents spilled through the store. The employee found a small raccoon asleep in the bathroom.
Australian politician and Member of Parliament for New England Barnaby Joyce gave a short speech before the Parliament on Thursday announcing his resignation from the National Party. The decision came after a month of speculation about his status in the party, including what The Sydney Morning Herald reported as discussions with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson about a possible defection.
The following tools are available to help reviewers and editors manage the main page leads:
Make Lead: A classic JavaScript tool that allows reviewers to create lead templates one at a time. Supports automatic sighting of revisions.
Lead Manager: A user script that allows shuffling or replacing any of the five leads, individually or all at once. Also supports automatic sighting of revisions.
The following are some recommendations and long-standing practices.
These are not strict guidelines, but following them will help keep the leads consistent and reader friendly.
Always sight the edit after updating a lead template.
Whenever possible, include an image. If the article has none, you may use a suitable generic image, but try to avoid leaving the image parameter empty.
Keep the summary short: usually 1-2 sentences are enough.
Avoid time-sensitive words such as "today" or "yesterday" in the lead summary. Instead, use the actual date (e.g., "On 26 September 2025, …").
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