T ERMS I N J OURNALISM

G LOSSARY OF T ERMS: JOURNALISM

add feature An addition to a story already written or in the process of Story emphasizing the human or entertaining aspects of a being written. situation. A news story or other material differentiated assignment from straight news. Instruction to a reporter to cover an event. file attribution To send a story to the office usually by wire or telephone Designation of the person being quoted. Also, the source or to put news service stories on the wire. of information in a story. flag banner Printed title of a newspaper on page one. Headline across or near the top of all or most of a newspa- folo per page. Also called a line, ribbon, streamer, screamer. Story that follows up on a theme in a news story. B copy futures calendar Bottom section of a story written ahead of an event that Date book in which story ideas, meetings and activities will occur too close to deadline for the entire story to be scheduled for a later occurrence are listed. processed. graf beat Abbreviation for paragraph. Area assigned to a reporter for regular coverage. Also, an guild exclusive story. Newspaper Guild, an international union to which break reporters and other newspaper workers belong. When a news development becomes known and available. handout Also, the point of interruption in a story continued from Term for written publicity or special-interest news sent to one page to another. a newspaper for publication bright hard news Short, amusing story. Spot news; live and current news in contrast to features. bulldog HFR Early edition, usually the first of a newspaper. Abbreviation for “hold for release.” Material that cannot byline be used until it is released by the source or at a designated Name of the reporter who wrote the story, placed atop the time. published article. insert cold type Material placed between copy in a story. In composition, type set photographically or by pasting up investigative reporting letters and pictures on acetate or paper. Technique use to unearth information that sources often correspondent want hidden. Reporter who sends news from outside a newspaper jump office. Continuation of a story from one page to another. crony journalism kill Reporting that ignores or treats lightly negative news To delete a section from copy or to discard the entire about friends of a reporter. story. crop lead To cut or mask the unwanted portions, usually of a First paragraph in a news story. photograph. localize cut To emphasize the names of persons from the local Printed picture or illustration. Also, to eliminate material community who are involved in events outside the city or from a story. region. cutline LTK Any descriptive or explanatory material under a picture. Designation on copy for “lead to come.” dateline makeup Name of the city or town and sometimes the date at the Layout or design. The arrangement of body type, head- start of a story that is not of local origin. lines, and illustrations into pages. enterprise copy masthead Story, often initiated by a reporter, that digs deeper than Formal statement of newspaper’s name, officers, place of the usual news story. publication and other descriptive information, usually on exclusive the editorial page. Story a reporter has obtained to the exclusion of the morgue competition. Newspaper library. T ERMS I N J OURNALISM

news hole tight Space in a newspaper allotted to news, illustrations and Refers to a paper so crowded with ads that the news space other nonadvertising material. must be reduced. off-the-record tip Describes material offered the reporter in confidence. If Information passed to a reporter, often in confidence. the reporter accepts the material with this understanding, verification it cannot be used except as general background in a later Determination of the truth of the material the reporter story. gathers or is given. op-ed page wire services Abbreviation for the page opposite the editorial page. Synonym for press associations, the Associated Press and The page is frequently devoted to opinion columns and United Press International. related illustrations. overnight Broadcasting Terms Story usually written late at night for the afternoon news- close-up papers of the next day. Shot of the face of the subject that dominated the frame pool so that little background is visible. Arrangement whereby limited numbers of reporters and cover shot photographers are selected to represent all those assigned A long shot usually cut in at the beginning of a sequence to the story. to establish place or location. press release cue Publicity handout, or a story given to the news media for A signal in a script or by word or gesture to begin or to publication. stop. puff piece or puffery cutaway Publicity story or a story that contains unwarranted Transition shot - usually short - from one theme to superlatives. another; used to avoid jump cut. roundup dissolve A story that joins two or more events with a common Smooth fading of one picture for another. theme, such as traffic accidents, weather, police reports. FI or fade in rowback A scene that begins without full brilliance and gradually A story that attempts to correct a previous story without assumes full brightness. indicating that the prior story had been in error or with- lead-in out taking responsibility for the error. Introductory statement to film or tape of actual event. running story lead-out Event that develops and is covered over a period of time. Copy that comes immediately after tape of film of an sell actuality. Presentation a reporter makes to impress the editor with long shot the importance of his or her story. Framing that takes in the scene of the event. shirttail medium shot Short, related story added to the end of a longer one. Framing of one person from head to waist or of a small sidebar group seated at a table. Story that emphasizes and elaborates on one part of montage another nearby story. A series of brief shots to give a single impression or situation communicate one idea. Story that pulls together a continuing event for the reader outtakes who may not have kept track as it unfolded. Scenes that are discarded for the final story. slant panning or pan shot To write a story so as to influence the reader’s thinking. Moving the camera from left to right or right to left. source remote Person, record, document or event that provides the A taped or live broadcast from a location outside the information for the story. studio; also, the unit that originates such a broadcast. split page segue Front page of an inside section. An uninterrupted transition from one sound to another; stringer a sound dissolve. Correspondent, not a regular staff member, who is paid by zooming the story or by the number of words written. Use of a variable focus lens to take close-ups and wide angle shots from a stationary position.

Source: News Reporting and Writing, by Melvin Mencher, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1997

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