Journalism Terminology

1. Journalism Terminology MCOM 101

2. Art • Photos, maps, charts, graphs, illustrations. • Art dresses up the paper and makes it visually appealing. • Each story should be examined for art possibilities. (See the graphic entry.)

3. Art

4. Assignment • A story a reporter has been given to research and write. A reporter is often “on assignment.”

5. Banner • The biggest headline atop the front page, usually running the entire width of the page. • Banners are often used on the biggest news stories.

6. Banner

7. Beat • A specialty area of coverage. • Some reporters are assigned an area to specialize in: police, courts, city hall, the statehouse, science, medicine, public schools, etc. These “beat reporters” are responsible for covering the news on their beats. Another meaning equates “beat” with “scoop.”  “We got the beat on the story despite plenty of competition.” In other words, they got the story first. Student papers can have beat reporters, too.

8. Budget • A list of stories planned for the next edition. • Each budget item includes the reporter’s name, what kind of art is available for the story and the approximate length in inches. 

9. Byline • Identifies who the story is by, hence the word. The name of the reporter who writes the story usually appears at the top of the story. The name of the paper is often part of the byline: • By Susan Lampert SmithWisconsin State Journal

10. Byline

11. Circulation • The number of papers sold. • Dailies usually list two circulation numbers: daily (Monday through Saturday) and Sunday. Sunday circulation is often higher than daily circulation. • Some daily papers have a circulation of several million. Some weekly papers have a circulation of a few hundred.

12. City Desk • This department of a newspaper consists of local reporters and their editors. They work in the city room or the newsroom. Sports, business and features reporters do not work for the city desk, but have their own departments.

13. Column • There are two meanings. A column is an article containing opinion or commentary written by a columnist. • It is also a vertical strip of type. Most American papers have six columns. Thirty years ago, they had nine.

14. Column

15. Copy • Stories or articles that are written by reporters and editors. “Max Wright’s copy is very clean.” That means that Max’s copy has few typographical, grammatical or spelling errors. • “Clean copy” is an important goal. Copy should be perfect when it is completed by the reporter.

16. Copy Editor • Someone who edits copy, checking for spelling, grammar, typographical and factual errors • Copy editors can also change copy to make it better organized and more compelling. • Copy editors also write headlines and design pages. Reporters do not write headlines for their stories. Students can play two roles -- reporter and copy editor. They should copy-edit someone else’s work, but they should proofread their own copy before turning it in.

17. Credit Line • A line of type acknowledging who took a photograph or produced a graphic element.

18. Credit Line

19. Cut • Making a story shorter by “making a cut.” • Traditional newspaper stories are written with the most important information at the top and the least important information at the bottom. That makes it easy to “cut from the bottom” in case the story doesn’t fit the space available. Stories that use different organizational structures, such as the narrative, should not be cut from the bottom.

20. Inverted Pyramid

21. Cutline • The caption beneath a photograph. • Look at the picture carefully before writing a cutline and try not to state the obvious. Instead, provide information to supplement the information that is already in the picture. Wrong: “Jefferson Principal Mary Parks sits atop the roof” Right: “Jefferson Principal Mary Parks spent three hours on the school roof after her students read 1,000 books.”

22. Dateline • The information between the byline and the story that identifies where a story originates. Sometimes the dateline also includes the date, depending on the paper’s policy. Stories produced locally do not have datelines.

23. Dateline

24. Deadline • The time at which copy must be turned in or at which the final page of the newspaper is composed. Missing a deadline can cost hundreds of dollars because truckers are paid to wait when they cannot fill up with their allotment of papers on time. If trucks are late, carriers get their papers late and deliver them to readers late. That makes readers mad and they may stop reading the paper. Deadlines are critical, whether they are daily, weekly or monthly. Work must be done on time.

25. Editorial • There are two meanings. One refers to an article that expresses an opinion. Editorials are run on editorial pages that are reserved for expressions of opinion: editorials, columns, letters to the editor and editorials reprinted from other papers. Columnists also write opinionated pieces, either for the editorial page or elsewhere. For example, many sports pages have columnists who  comment on various aspects of sports. Their columns should be clearly marked as opinion. Writers who review plays, movies and performances also express opinions. That’s their function. Again, these pieces should be clearly identified.

26. Editorial

27. Editorial Cartoon

28. Opinions • Reporters should not put their opinions in news and feature stories. Keep opinions on the editorial page, in columns and in reviews. Many student writers are tempted to add “moral tags” to the bottom of news and feature stories. For example, a story about a new teacher may end with:  “We’re all glad Mr. Smith is here!” That’s a moral tag and should be avoided. Notice the exclamation mark. Avoid it as well.

29. Feature Story • A story not based on “breaking news.” In other words, its interest lies in some factor other than the news value. • A profile of a school principal is a feature. A story about the history of the school building is a feature. A story about a fire in the school kitchen is a news story.

30. Five W’s • Five W’s -- Who, what, when, where, why (or sometimes H for How). These are the major questions answered in the lead (or lede) of a well-written news story using the traditional inverted-pyramid structure. That structure puts the most important information in the first paragraph and the least important in the last paragraph.

31. 5 W Lead Who How What Where When Why

32. Sample Lead • The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 38-9 Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field by using a devastating defense and a balanced offense.

33. Flag • The name of the paper atop the front page. It’s the flag because it flies above the rest of the page.

34. Front Page • The first page of the paper where the most interesting and most newsworthy stories are placed.

35. Front Page, Above the Fold

36. Graphic • A chart, graph, map or similar device used to help tell a story. A graphic is usually used in conjunction with a story. It can provide details that can be eliminated from the story. Sometimes a graphic can stand alone and be the entire story. Students who are handy with a computer can be graphics editors. For example, a story that surveys students about their favorite entertainer can be accompanied by a bar chart that lists the top five or 10 entertainers.

37. Headline • Summarizes the story.  Often written as “hed.’’ • Use verbs and complete thoughts in headlines. “10th-graders study rain forest,” “Giraffes are big hit on field trip,” “Mrs. Jones raises goats.”

38. Jump • The part of the story that continues on another page. The introduction to the jump on the first page is called the “jump line.” “See ‘giraffes’ on Page 4” or “Continued on Page 4.” The jumped story should be clearly labeled. “Mrs. Jones, continued from Page 1.”

39. Jump

40. Masthead • Lists the top management of the paper.

41. Proofread • Reading every letter of every word in the paper to make sure everything is spelled correctly. Every reporter should proofread every story before turning it in. An editor should proofread every page, including headlines, bylines, cutlines and graphics, before the paper is printed.  Always use the computer spell-checker, but remember that it can fail you in embarrassing ways.

42. Refers • They appear on Page 1 and tell the readers about stories inside the paper. They are a quick and easy way to fill holes on the front page when stories run short. “Tenth-graders meet the giraffes. See Page 5.”

43. Refers

44. Sidebar • A short story related to the main story and run adjacent to it.  A sidebar develops one angle of the main story.

45. Top Line • The biggest headline on the front page, sometimes called the banner.

46. Editorial Department • The news department of a newspaper, responsible for all content of the newspaper except advertising. At some papers this term refers to the department responsible for the editorial page only.

47. Editorialize • To inject the reporter's or the newspaper's opinion into a news story or headline. Most newspapers restrict opinion to analysis stories, columns and editorials.

48. information graphic • A visual representation of data.

49. Lay Out • lay out (v.) The process of preparing page drawings to indicate where stories and pictures are to be placed in the newspaper. layout (n.) The completed page drawing, or page dummy.

50. Lead • (1) The first paragraph or first several paragraphs of a newspaper story (sometimes spelled lede); • (2) the story given the best display on Page One; • (3) a tip.