In journalism, the "lede" is the introduction to a story - a sentence or paragraph - designed to entice readers to continue.
For example, the lede in a review of Calvin Trillin's "The Lede" might be: Calvin Trillin is an annoyingly good writer.
Presumably, the juxtaposition of "annoyingly" and
Calvin Trillin's new collection of stories, 'The Lede: Dispatches From a Life in the Press,' reminds us not just of his brilliant plying of the trade but also of what the trade once was.