Journalism glossary Flashcards

Question

casual

Answer 1

journalist employed by a newspaper only on temporary basis. Since it's cheaper for employers, numbers growing

Answer 2

usually single word identifying story which is typed in right hand corner of every page. Sub-‐editor will tend to use this word to identify story on layout. US: slug

Answer 3

copy and pictures running over two pages in centre of newspaper

Answer 4

activity in which newspapers compete to purchase rights to someone's story, e.g. mistress of minister. Figure can reach phenomenal levels when person's story considered of high news value. Some newspapers routinely offer much smaller amounts of money to people in exchange for information

Answer 5

section of newspaper running the financial page/s

Answer 6

small ads classified according to subject area and carrying no illustrations

Answer 7

stories cut from newspapers and usually filed. Most newspapers have cuttings libraries to assist journalists' research activities. Individual journalists usually have their own cuttings files

Answer 8

journalist who provides comment in regular series of articles. Usually adopts individual writing style

Answer 9

journalist's source

Answer 10

editorial material. Hard copy refers to editorial material typed on paper

Answer 11

usually refers to journalist working in specialist areas, e.g. transport, education, defence. Particularly used with reference to foreign assignments, e.g. Moscow correspondent, Cairo correspondent

Answer 12

indication that story continues or begins on another page

Answer 13

remove copy from script, screen or page proof

Answer 14

time by which copy is expected to be submitted

Answer 15

departments of newspapers are often known in terms of desks; thus picture desk; news desk; features desk etc.

Answer 16

to do deep research

Answer 17

large advertisements usually containing illustrations (cf. classified ads) and appearing on editorial pages. Advertising department will organise the distribution of ads throughout the newspaper which is usually indicated on a dummy (see below) handed to the sub-‐editors before layout of paper begins

Answer 18

small version of editorial pages used for planning overall contents of newspaper and usually containing details of display advertising. Dummy will often be considered at early news conference where decisions on newspaper size and advertisement distribution are made

Answer 19

person in overall charge of the editorial content of the newspaper

Answer 20

(1) all non-‐advertising copy (2) column in which newspaper expresses its own views on issues (sometimes known as leader)

Answer 21

time (often found on press releases) before which information should not be published. System based on trust between source and media outlet. Some newspapers, however, have habit of breaking embargoes -‐ and attracting considerable publicity (good and bad) in process

Answer 22

story supposedly uniquely carried by newspaper. Vast number of stories in every newspaper would qualify for this description so should really be limited to few major stories. Description becomes devalued when attached to stories too frequently or when the same story is carried in other newspapers on the same day (as often happens) (see below scoop)

Answer 23

presence of reporter at news event can provide unique opportunities for writing descriptive, colourful copy

Answer 24

listing of facts (often boxed) relating to story. Useful way of creating visual and copy variety on page

Answer 25

as distinct from news story tends to be longer, carry more background information, colour, wider range of sources and journalist's opinion can be prominent

Answer 26

though most newspapers have dispersed from this street in East London between the Strand and St Paul's Cathedral, national newspapers as a collective group are still known by this name, Often known as Street of Shame

Answer 27

press supposedly occupying the position of fourth most powerful institution after Lords Spiritual, Lords Temporal and Commons. (Lord Macaulay: "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm.")

Answer 28

range of services and entertainments (e.g. drinks, meals, trips abroad funded by governments/tourist organisations, transport companies, tickets to concerts, theatres) provided free to journalists. Some journalists believe acceptance of freebies compromises "objectivity" and refuse to accept them

Answer 29

journalist contributing to several media outlets and not on permanent staff of any one organisation (increasingly a euphemism for unemployed). Freelancer in US

Answer 30

sometimes applied to the tabloid press

Answer 31

a story displayed horizontally usually at the top of a page

Answer 32

a story sent to media outlets by a press relations office of an organization or a PR company

Answer 33

copy typed on sheets of paper (usually A4 size). Each page is known as a folio

Answer 34

news focusing on who, what, where, when, why based on factual detail and quotes and containing little description, journalist comment or analysis. Cf. soft news (see below)

Answer 35

broadsheet “serious” papers such as the Guardian, The Times, Financial Times

Answer 36

a story focusing on success, failures, tragedies, emotional/sexual histories of people. It eliminates or marginalises more abstract and deeper cultural, economic, political, class-‐based factors

Answer 37

an abbreviation for indentation: providing white space at the start or end of a line

Answer 38

the front page (or sometimes elsewhere) listing of stories in the rest of a paper. To ease reading and “sell”/”flag” the contents in a prominent place

Answer 39

the opening of a news/feature story usually containing the main angle (see above). Not necessarily just single a par(agraph). (see below). Also known as lead. US: nose

Answer 40

the traditional representation of news stories (with main point at start and information declining in news value after that and ending with a short background). It tends to oversimplify the structure of a news story. It’s better to imagine a series of inverted pyramids within an overall, large pyramid

Answer 41

in one respect all journalism involves investigation. But investigative reporting tends to reveal something of social/political significance which someone powerful or famous wants hidden. US investigative reporters are known as muckrakers

Answer 42

all copies of a day’s paper and its editions

Answer 43

to decide not to use (or drop) story/feature. Newspapers are supposed to pay “kill fee” when they break an agreement to use freelance copy

Answer 44

the main story on a page. On the front page it’s otherwise known as splash

Answer 45

see editorial

Answer 46

a payment to freelancers based on the number of lines of copy used

Answer 47

specialist group of correspondents reporting about the House of Commons

Answer 48

a newspaper’s title on page one

Answer 49

newspapers such as Mail and Express which lie (in terms of overall style and appearance) between heavies and pops

Answer 50

a secret source of an investigative journalist buried deep in the heart of an organisation whose activities they are prepared to reveal

Answer 51

a journalist who works during the evening for a media organisation while holding another full-‐time post during the day.

Answer 52

a photo showing just the face (and sometimes shoulders). Otherwise known as head and shoulders

Answer 53

the abbreviation for obituary, an account and appreciation of life. For famous people usually prepared in anticipation of their death

Answer 54

when statements are made not for publication but for background only. Information derived from comments should in no way be traceable back to its source

Answer 55

when there are no restrictions on reporting what is said

Answer 56

an article in which the journalist expresses an overt opinion

Answer 57

the abbreviation for Press Association which supplies national news and a features service (as well as an international service from its link-‐ up with Reuters) to most national and local papers

Answer 58

a collection of journalists (sometimes known as rat pack)

Answer 59

a horde of photographers

Answer 60

the abbreviation for paragraph. Also para

Answer 61

the last paragraph with a twist or a flourish

Answer 62

an announcement made by an organisation especially for use by the media

Answer 63

an investigation

Answer 64

the print-‐out of a part or the whole of page. This proof is read, corrected where necessary and the amended page (the revise) is then ready for final printing.

Answer 65

(1) the abbreviation for quotation; (2) when a reporter files copy over the phone “quote” then means first inverted commas. End quote marks are often known as “unquote”.

Answer 66

the number of people who read a paper as opposed to the number of copies sold

Answer 67

a feature looking back on an event

Answer 68

to change a story or a page in the light of new material

Answer 69

to use information provided in a story but compose it in completely new language. Known as a re-‐write (rewrite) job

Answer 70

a story based on a series of telephone calls

Answer 71

a reporter who travels around a lot

Answer 72

the abbreviation for ‘repetitive strain injury’. It’s a painful medical condition which can cause damage to the hands, wrists, upper arms and backs especially of people who use computers and other forms of keyboard

Answer 73

a story which runs/develops over a number of editions or days

Answer 74

an exlusive story

Answer 75

an exclamation mark (usually in a headline)

Answer 76

a separately-‐folded part of the paper

Answer 77

a story with popular appeal.

Answer 78

the by-line at the foot of a story

Answer 79

supposedly a time (usually in the summer holiday period) when little hard news is around and the press is reduced to covering trivia. For some newspapers the silly season can last a long time. Wars and invasions often happen in the silly season too

Answer 80

when a company owns more than one newspaper, each is described as sister. Thus The Times is the Sun’s sister paper since both are owned by Rupert Murdoch

Answer 81

a light news story that can be more colourful, witty, commenty than the hard news story (see above)

Answer 82

to reject copy or other information (e.g. press release) Derived from an old metal spike which stood on a wooden base on which subs would stick unwanted material. It had the advantage over “binning” since the material was accessible so long as it remained on the spike

Answer 83

the lead news story on the front page

Answer 84

the text intended to be read between the headline and the story, which can elaborate on the point made in the main headline, add a new one, raise a question which will be answered in the story (a teaser). Sometimes contains the by-‐line. It helps provide the reader with a “guiding hand” into reading a large slice of copy – thus mainly used for features and occasionally for long news stories

Answer 85

a column on the back page of a newspaper left blank and allowing for slotting in news which had broken just before publication

Answer 86

a freelance (or : freelancer), either in provinces, in London or overseas, who has come to an arrangement with a news organisation to supply copy on an agreed basis. A super-‐stringer will contract to devote most of his time working for one organisation but still be free to freelance for other media outlets for the rest of the time

Answer 87

special rules adopted by newspaper relating to spelling, punctuation, abbreviations. It’s often contained within a stylebook though increasingly carried on screens. Some newspapers somehow survive without them

Answer 88

the person responsible for editing reporters’ copy, writing headlines, captions, laying out pages etc. The stone sub makes final corrections and cuts on page proofs

Answer 89

a newspaper whose pages are roughly half the size of a broadsheet. All popular papers are tabloids, as are sections of some of heavies (e.g. Guardian2; Independent on Sunday’s finance section). Despite their popularity, the term ‘tabloid’ is often used as a term of abuse when the press collectively are criticised. Serious tabloids exist on the Continent (Libération and Le Monde, in France, and De Standaard in Belgium for instance)

Answer 90

shoddy, over-‐sensational, cliché-‐ridden copy most commonly associated with the tabloids

Answer 91

an analytical article

Answer 92

information supplied to a newspaper by a member of the public

Answer 93

journalism training schools often produce wall newspapers when final pages are produced but not sent away to be published. Simply stuck on walls. In some countries (e.g. China) newspapers gained most of their readership through being pinned to walls in public places

Answer 94

a person revealing newsworthy and previously secret information to the press

Answer 95

a short line left at the top of a page or a column (to be avoided)

Journalism glossary Flashcards

(120 cards)