Newspaper Terms

ABC – Abbreviation for the Audit Bureau of Circulation, an organization that collects statistics on circulation

Ad – Abbreviation for advertisement

Advertising – Commercial messages that announce services or merchandise for sale; messages are paid for by the advertiser and printed in the newspaper

Angle – The perspective from which a news story is viewed, or the emphasis chosen for a story

AP – Abbreviation for The Associated Press, a wire service

Assignment – A news gathering task given to a reporter or photographer

Balloon – Used in comic strips to show the words of a person coming directly out of their mouth

Banner – A headline that stretches across the top of a page

Beat – A particular subject, such as the police or fire department, that a reporter is assigned to cover regularly

Blind ad – A classified ad that does not make known the identity of the advertiser; responses are usually sent to a box or drawer number

Body – The paragraphs that give more detail about the lead

Boldface – Dark-faced or heavy type, like this.

Border – Strips of type, in various designs, used to make a box around a story or ad

Break – The point at which a story proceeds from one column to another or “jumps” from one page to another

Broadsheet – A single page of the newspaper that is 13 inches wide by 21 inches deep. Newspapers are divided into two categories: Broadsheet, which is what one typically thinks of as a newspaper, and tabloids, which are shaped more like a book or magazine

Byline – Name of the article’s writer/author, carried at the top of the story

Canadian Press – A Canadian wire service (see Wire Service)

Canned material – Publicity articles or materials that are sent by press agents

Cap – Short for capital letter

Caption – Text that accompanies a photograph or illustration, also called a cutline

Catchline – Headline for a photo

Circulation – The total number of copies of a newspaper or publication distributed to subscribers and venders in one day

City Editor – The editor in charge of writing and editing local news

Classified advertising – Advertising that is arranged according to the services or products that are advertised; ads are “classified” into categories such as “help wanted,” “appliances,” “homes for rent,” “cars for sale,” etc.

Clean copy – Copy that needs few corrections

Clean proof – A proof that needs few corrections

Column – Vertical sections of typed lines on a newspaper page, 10 to 14 picas wide. “Column” can also mean an article that appears regularly in the newspaper, written by a reporter or columnist, usually an opinion piece

Column inch – A unit of measurement one inch deep and one column wide

Columnist – A writer using the same space daily or weekly to write about something

Console – The part of the press that controls the speed of the press and counts the number of copies being printed

Copy – All written material

Copy desk – Where the copy is edited, headlined and prepared for the composing room

Copy editor – A person who corrects or edits the copy written by reporters

Copyright – Legal protection of an author’s exclusive right to his or her work

Correspondent – Reporter stationed in another location

Cover – To cover an event is to collect all of the available news about it

Credit line – A photographer’s byline

Cut – Newspaper photograph

Cutline – Text that accompanies a photograph or illustration, also called a caption

Dateline – The line at the top of the story that tells where the story originated; also the line at the top of page one giving the date and place of publication of the newspaper

Deadline – Time at which all copy, art and ads for the edition must be submitted

Deck – A smaller, more detailed headline that runs below the primary headline; also, the term can refer to a section of a headline

Display ad – Advertising other than classified

Display type – Type used for headlines; type larger than 14 pt.

Downstyle – Capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns in a headline

Dummy – A diagram or layout of a newspaper page showing the placement of stories, headlines, pictures and advertisements

Ears – Space at the top of the front page on each side of the newspaper’s name, where weather news or announcement of special features might appear

Edition – A press run of a newspaper

Editorial – Article expressing the opinion of an editor or a group of editors; sometimes editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher or owner of the paper; also, the word refers to the department of the paper where news is gathered, written and edited for publication

Editorial Cartoon – A cartoon that expresses an opinion about a news personality, issue or event

Editorialize – To express an opinion in a headline or news story; editorializing is not considered to be good journalism unless the article is clearly marked as “opinion” or “commentary”

Exclusive – A “scoop” or story printed by only one paper

Face – The style of type; also called font

Feature – A story in which the interest lies in some factor other than news value; often it has human interest value or emphasizes a specific angle of a news story

Filler – News that is usually timeless, used to fill a small space

First-day Story – A story dealing with something that has just happened

First Amendment – The first article of the Bill of Rights, which guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition

Five Ws – Who, What, Where, When and Why (sometimes H for How is added) – the main questions a reporter asks when reporting

Flag – The name of the newspaper as printed on the front page. Also called the logo

Flush – Even with the column margin; has no indentation for paragraphs

Folder – The part of the press that cuts and folds the paper into newspaper sections

Folio – The line at the top of the page that includes the date and page number

Follow-up – A story giving later developments of an event already reported

Fotog – Short for photographer

Freedom of the press – The freedom granted in Article 1 of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: abridging the freedom of speech or the press…”

General Assignment – A reporter who covers a variety of stories

Gutter – The margin of space between facing pages

Hard news – Factual news; straight news reporting

Head -- Short for headline

Headline – The display type above a newspaper article that summarizes the story found directly below it and encourages the reader to read the story

Hold for Release – Instructions to hold copy until the editor approves it for release

Hole – Any vacant or empty space on the page; also, when information is missing from a story

Hook – A device the reporter uses to pull the reader into a story

Human Interest – Emotional appeal in the news; not a straight news story

Index – Table of contents of the newspaper, usually found on page 1

Insert – Copy that is to be inserted in a story; also something printed and prepared for insertion into a newspaper

Inverted Pyramid – The organization style traditionally used in news stories. The lead contains the most important facts (who, what, where, when, why and how), with the other details arranged in descending order of importance

Issue – All the copies a newspaper publishes in one day

Jump – To continue a story from one page to another

Jump-line – Line at bottom of the story listing the page where the story continues

Justify – To add spaces between words so that the lines of the story are flush left and flush right

Kicker – A small headline above and slightly to the left of the main headline

Kill – To eliminate all or part of a story

Layout – A sketch that indicates the arrangement of pictures and copy on a printed page

Lead – First few sentences or first paragraph of a news story containing the most important facts, written to catch the reader’s attention

Legal Notice – Paid notices that appear in the classified section of the newspaper. They contain information about public meetings, financial statements and sheriff sales

Letter to the Editor – A letter from the reader that expresses his or her views on a topic, usually printed on the editorial page of the paper

Libel – Publication of any material, without just cause or excuse, expose someone to public disgrace or ill opinion

Line Ads – Classified ads made up of three or more lines

Localize – To emphasize the local angle in an out-of-town story

Logo – Name of newspaper as it is printed on the front page. Also called the flag

Makeup – The arrangement of stories, headlines and pictures on a page

Managing Editor – The editor who directs the daily gathering and editing of the news

Masthead – List of the major executives of the paper, usually printed on the editorial page

Nameplate – The name of the newspaper, also called a flag, usually placed at the top of page 1

News Hole – Amount of space in a newspaper for news, as opposed to advertising

Newsprint – Uncoated printing paper; a grade of paper made from wood pulp, used mainly for printing newspapers

News Services – News gathering agencies, such as The Associated Press, that distribute news to subscribing newspapers

Obit – Short for obituary

Obituary – A biography of a person who has died

Off the record – Information that is not for publication

Op/Ed Page – A page opposite the editorial page where various columnists appear

Opaquing – Covering up marks on the page film before making a printing plate

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) – An organization that makes sure that employees have a safe working environment

Overline – A caption above a photograph

Page 1 – The first page of a newspaper

Page Negative – A negative image of each page of the newspaper

Pasteup – Proofs of art, headlines and stories pasted up on a dummy that is the actual size of the page to be printed

Pica – A unit of measurement equal to 1/6 of an inch or 12 points; the word is sometimes used to denote 12-point font

Plagiarism – Literary theft or passing off someone else’s work as your own

Plate – A page that is ready to be locked on the press

Preprint – An insert printed before the insertion date that is inserted into the papers from a press run. Inserts can be printed at the newspaper or outside of the newspaper

Press Conference – A meeting called to give information to the press

Press Release – A specially prepared statement for the news media

Press Run – The number of copies printed at one time

Proof – A copy of the article, headline or advertisement put on paper for the purpose of making corrections

Proofreader – A person who reads proof pages and marks the things that need to be corrected

Publisher – The chief executive and often owner of a newspaper

Q and A – Copy that is in a question-and-answer format

Quote – Words copied exactly from a source and denoted with quotation marks

Release – A common term for a press release; also to permit publication of a specific story at a specific time; also a formed signed by a person being photographed to authorize the use of the picture

Review – A critical evaluation of a movie, play, record or other artistic endeavor

Rollstand – The part of the printing press that holds the newsprint rolls

Running Story – A story that develops over several days and is reported from day to day

Runsheet – A document where all ads for a particular day are listed with size, color, sales rep and other important information

Schedule – The news editor’s record of assignments

Scoop – When a newspaper, radio station or TV station gets a news story or image that no one else has

Second-day Story – Follow-up story that gives new developments

Second Front Page – The front page of a second section of the newspaper

Series – A group of related stories, sometimes written by the same reporter and run daily or weekly for a period of time

Shoot – To take pictures

Slant – The angle of a story, but the term implies bias more than “angle” does

Slitter – Knives on the printing press that cut the newspapers

Skybox – The area on the front page above the flag

Source – Where the information in a story comes from

Spread – The display that is given to an important story

Standing Heads – Headlines that don’t change and are kept on hand to be used again

Story – Any newspaper article written by any reporter

Straight News – News facts written without any embellishment

Stringer – A correspondent for a newspaper, not a full-time employee, usually paid by the number or length of stories printed in the newspaper

Stylebook – A book of rules that a newspaper uses to maintain consistency in spellin, abbreviation, punctuation, etc.

Subscription – A formal agreement to receive and pay for a periodical

Syndicate – An organization that buys and sells material such as crossword puzzles, comic strips, gossip columns, etc.

Syndicated Features – Material such as comics, advice columns, etc., supplied nationally to newspapers by news syndicates

Tabloid – A newspaper that has a small page size, usually 11 inches wide and 16 to 18 inches deep

Tearsheet – A clipping of an advertisement sent to the advertiser as proof that the ad has appeared in the paper

Thumbnail – A half-column picture

Ticket – Tickets are made out for every display ad. Copies go to ad design and bookkeeping, one copy stays with the ad and one stays with the sales rep

Tie-back – The part of a story that ties it back to something that has already been published

Tight – Too full, crowded pages, without much room for copy

Tip – Information that could lead to a story

Tombstone – Placing two headlines of the same size and type side by side so that it is hard to distinguish that the two are different stories

Trim – To reduce the length of a story

UPI – Abbreviation for United Press International, a wire service

Up style – Capitalizing the first letter of every word in a headline

Want ads – Classified ads

Web – A continuous sheet of paper going through the press

Wire Copy – Editorial copy that is usually supplied by news services

Wire Service – A news collection and transmission service such as AP or UPI

Wirephoto – The Associated Press service that sends photographs, maps and other illustrations

Yellow Journalism – Sensationalized journalism