Here's why:
* The most important information comes first: The lead paragraph (also called the "nut graf") summarizes the main points of the story.
* Information is presented in descending order of importance: Each subsequent paragraph provides more detail and context, but each piece of information is less crucial than the one before it.
* The "bottom" of the story can be cut off without losing the core information: This makes it easy for editors to adjust the length of an article or to prioritize information for different sections of the newspaper.
This structure helps ensure that readers can quickly grasp the main points of a story, even if they only have time to read the first few paragraphs. It's also a very efficient way to present information, which is important for news organizations that need to deliver information quickly and accurately.