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Journalism Terms

Terms in this set (52)

Anecdote
an informative and entertaining story within a story.
AP
The Associated Press, a worldwide news-gathering cooperative owned by its subscribers.
Background
information that may be attributed to a source by title but not by name. (a White House aide said ...)
Beat
a reporter's assigned area of responsibility. It may be an institution, such as a courthouse; a geographical area, such as a small town; or a subject, such as health care.
Blog
(short for "web blog") a Web-based publicatoin in which articles, issued periodically, appear in reverse chronological order.
byline
a line identifying the author of a story
Citizen Journalism
a new form of media in which citizens actively participate in gathering and writing information, often in the form of news
Clip
a story clipped from a newspaper (or downloaded from a journalism website)
closed-ended question
a direct question designed to draw a specific response (example: "Will you be a candidate?")
Community Portal
a Web site designed as a general entry point for Internet users in a city and its nearby suburbs
Copy
what reporters write (a story is a piece of copy)
Cover
(verb) to stay on top of significant developments on a beat or to report on a specific event
Cutline
the caption that accompanies a newspaper or magazine photograph
Deadline
the time by which a reporter or editor must have completed scheduled work
Dialogue
a conversation between two or more people, neither of whom is normally the reporter.
Editorialize
to inject the reporter's or the newspaper's opinion into a news story or headline
foreshadowing
a technique of teasing readers with material coming later in the story as a way of encouraging them to keep reading
Freedom of Information act
A law passed in 1966 to make it easier to obtain information from federal agencies. The law was amended in 1974 to improve access to government records.
Gatekeepers
editors who determine what readers or viewers read, hear, and see.
Graf
a shortened word for paragraph
Hard Lead
a lead that reports a new development or recently discovered fact
Hard News
coverage of the actions of government or business, or the reporting of an event, such as a crime, an accident, or a speech
Hypermedia
Web links among audio, video, and pictures.
immediate-identification lead
the opening paragraph of a story in which the "who" is reported by name
Interviewing
having conversations with sources
Invasion of privacy
violation of a person's right to be left alone
Inverted Pyramid
a news story that has information arranaged in descending order of importance
Investigative Piece
a story intended to reveal material not generally known
Investigative Reporting
the pursuit of information that has been concealed, such as evidence of wrongdoing
Lead
(1) the first paragraph or first several paragraphs of a story (also lede); (2) the story given the best display on Page One; and (3) a tip from someone.
Lead-in
an introduction to a broadcast story (radio or television) that can be an excerpt or explanation
Libel
damage to a person's reputation caused by a false written statemetn that brings the person into hatred, contempt, or ridicule -- or injures his or her business or occupational pursuit
Morgue
the news room library, where published stories, photos, etc. are stored for future reference (now mostly on-line)
Narration
the telling of a story, usually in chronological order
News Value
how important or interesting a story is
Nut Paragraph
a paragraph that summarizes the key element or elements of a story (also called a nut graf)
Open Meetings law
a state or federal law guaranteeing public access to meetings of public officials (also called a sunshine law)
Open Records law
a state or federal law guaranteeing public access to many -- but not all -- kinds of government records
open-ended question
a question that permits the respondent some latitude in the answer, with more than a simple "yes" or "no"
Plagiarism
using any part of another person's writing and passing it off as your own
Press Release
an item that is sent out by a group or individual seeking publicity from the media (also called a news release or handout)
Privilege
a defense against libel that claims the right to repeat what goernment officials say or do in their official capacities
Profile
a story intended to reveal the personality or character of a person or an institution
Quote
(noun) the exact words of a source; (verb) to report those words inside quotation marks
Shield law
legislation giving journalists the right to protect the identity of their sources
sidebar
a secondary (smaller story) intended to go with a major story on the same topic
Soft lead
a lead that uses a quote, anecdote, or other literary device to attract the reader
Soft News
stories about trends, personalities, or lifestyles (time element is not usually important)
story
the term most journalists use for a newspaper article (also called piece)
Stylebook
a book of rules on grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviation in newspaper text
Summary Lead
the first paragraph of a news story, with a summary of two or more actions (rather than one main point)
You lead
the first paragraph of a news story, using the informal "you" (2nd person)
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...