I've always wondered ....

[Jim Thomsen]

Why do we write "lede" instead of "lead," and "hed" instead of "head"?

[pam robinson]

Hi, Jim, because in the old days of lead (as in the metal) type, people needed to distinguish between the the top of a story and the metal. "Lead type" could be read a couple of different ways.
Pam
:o

[Jim Thomsen]

And why do we STILL use those terms?

[Deirdre Edgar]

Tradition! (I guess... ) We also say rim and slot, although our copy desk sits in cubicle pods. No "rims" here.

[kduhe]

An editor on our desk insists on writing "hede" instead of "head" or "hed." Been doing it for 20 years or more. It still gets on my nerves every time.

Way back in J-school, I received a handout listing at least a dozen possible explanations for the use of "30" at the end of stories. I wish I still had that. What explanations have you heard?

[Jim Thomsen]

"Slug" is another one. And not the sedentary kind.

[Gerri Berendzen]

That goes back to the hot type days.

This comes from Merriam-Webster, under the word slug:
6 a : a strip of metal thicker than a printer's lead b : a line of type cast as one piece c : a usually temporary type line serving to instruct or identify

Because it's short and people understand what it means, we still use it. Every profession has its jargon.