Media Production: Press, Radio, and Photography

Vocabulary terms and definitions related to Press, Radio, and Photography as outlined in the media production lecture notes.

Advertorial

An advertisement in a newspaper or magazine that is designed to look like an article by the writers of the magazine.

Agony Column

The part of a magazine or newspaper where letters from readers about their problems are printed, together with advice how to deal with them.

Bias

When a journalist expresses a personal point of view in a news article or in a series of articles.

Byline

A line at the beginning of a news article giving the writer's name.

Caption

A sentence or phrase under a picture to identify or describe the picture.

Column

A regular article or feature in a newspaper or magazine.

Columnist

A person who writes a regular (daily or weekly) article for a newspaper or magazine, such as a political or a sports one.

Correspondent

A person employed by a news organization to gather, report, or contribute news, articles, etc., regularly from a distant place.

Coverage

The reporting of a particular important event or subject.

Dateline

Usually comes after the byline, gives when (date) and where (city) the story took place (if confined to a specific city/country).

Double-page spread

In a book, magazine, etc. it is one article, set of photographs, etc. that covers two pages opposite each other.

Edition

A particular form in which a book, magazine, or newspaper is published, or the total number of copies published at the same time.

Editor

The head of a news organization; person who chooses the articles that will be printed each day.

Editorial

Article written by the editor giving his opinion on a problem or event.

Exclusive

A story that is published in one magazine, website, etc., and no others.

Eyewitness

A person who sees an occurrence with his own eyes and is able to give a first-hand account of it.

Feature

A special or regular article, usually displayed prominently.

Front page

The first page of a paper, usually carrying the most important story.

Gonzo

Intended to be shocking and exciting rather than informative.

Headline

Title of any newspaper article.

Libel

A lie that causes damage (misrepresents damagingly); it is permanent and leaves a record.

Lonely Heart Column

A place or part of a magazine, etc. for people who would like to make new friends or meet a sexual partner.

Media Hype

A moment when every newspaper writes about the same problem.

Muckraking

The activity, especially by newspapers and reporters, of trying to find out unpleasant information about people or organizations in order to make it public.

Opinion

A person's thoughts about a particular subject; a subjective point of view.

Obituary Column

A report in a newspaper that gives the news of someone's death and details about their life.

Ombudsman / Public Editor

A neutral individual employed by a news organization to receive, investigate, report on and resolve reader or viewer complaints.

Plagiarize

To put forth as original to oneself the ideas or words of another.

Press Box

A room or other area kept for reporters to work in, especially at sports events.

Propaganda

Information, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, spread with the intention of influencing people's opinions.

Rag

A newspaper or magazine considered to be of bad quality.

Readership

The group of people who regularly read a particular newspaper, magazine, etc.

Reporter

A person who gathers and reports news for a news organization.

Secondary Audience

People who do not buy a newspaper or magazine themselves, but read a copy after the buyer has finished with it.

Slander

A false report maliciously uttered and tending to injure the reputation of a person; it is temporary and spoken.

Source

Someone who gives a reporter information; a supplier of information.

Tabloids

A newspaper of small format giving the news in condensed form, usually with illustrated, often sensational material.

the Gutter Press

The type of newspapers that pay more attention to shocking stories about crime and sex than to serious matters.

the Media

All the means of mass communication (newspapers, TV, radio, websites, magazines).

the Press

All the media and agencies that print, broadcast, or gather and transmit news.

The Press Association

An organization that supplies news reports to newspapers, magazines, and broadcasting and internet companies in the UK and Ireland.

Airtime

The amount of broadcasting time that someone or something has on television or radio.

AM

A type of radiobroadcasting in which the strength of the signal changes, producing sound of a lower quality than FM.

Anchorman

A man who is the main news reader on a television or radio news programme.

Call Letters

Identification of a station.

Cue

A word or action in a play or film that is used as a signal by a performer to begin saying or doing something.

Debriefing

A meeting that takes place in order to get information about a particular piece of work that has been finished.

Disc Jockey

Someone who plays records and talks on the radio or at an event where people dance to recorded popular music.

Easy-listening

A type of music that is not complicated, serious, or difficult.

Emcee

A person whose job is to introduce performers in a television, radio, or stage show.

FM

A radio system for broadcasting that produces a very clear sound.

Frequency

A particular number of radio waves produced in a second at which a radio signal is broadcast.

Hot Mic

Microphone that is on, but the person doesn't know it.

Jingle

A short tune.

Newsroom

An office at a television or radio station or a newspaper where news is collected and reports are prepared.

Overexposure

A situation in which something appears so much in the media that people lose interest.

Pilot

A programme that is made to introduce a new radio or television series and test how popular it is.

Playlist

A list of all the pieces of music chosen to be broadcast on a radio show or radio station.

Podcast

A radio show that you can find online.

Public Service Broadcasting

Television and radio programmes broadcast to provide information, advice, or entertainment without trying to make a profit.

Radio

Electronic equipment used to send and receive spoken messages or signals.

Researcher

Someone whose job is to study a subject carefully in order to discover new information or understand it better.

Run Down

Timed outline of various elements that go into the programme.

Shock Jock

A person who presents a radio programme and often says things that are not considered acceptable by most people.

Slot

An amount of time that is officially allowed for a single event in a planned order of activities or events.

Syndication

Buying a radio show and running whenever desired.

Target/ Key/ Core Audience

A group of people a radio station targets for marketing.

Transmission

The process of broadcasting something by radio, television, etc., or the content itself.

Waveband

A set of radio waves of similar length that are used for broadcasting radio programmes.

Chequebook Journalism

The practice of paying someone for a news story and especially for granting an interview.

Fanzine

A magazine, usually produced by amateurs, for fans of a particular performer, group, or form of entertainment.

Back Issue

An old newspaper edition.

City Desk

The area of the newsroom where local news events are covered.

Hot Off The Press

News that has just been printed and is very recent.

Comic Strip

A sequence of drawings in boxes that tell an amusing story, typically printed in a newspaper or comic book.

Kicker

Words positioned above a headline, usually as a lead-in or teaser.

Press Junket

An intense promotional tour for a film by its stars and director to help promote the film for its release.

Masthead

Information usually located on the first inside page or editorial page containing the publisher, staff, and contact info.

Citizen Journalism

News reported and distributed by citizens rather than professional journalists and for-profit news organizations.

Fake News

False stories that appear to be news spread through the internet and media.

Copywriting

The process of expressing the value and benefits a brand has to offer via written or verbal descriptions.

Prime Time

The time during the viewing schedule when most people watch TV or listen to a broadcast.

Sound

Something that you hear or that can be heard.

Shutter

The part of a camera that opens temporarily to allow light to reach the film when a photograph is being taken.

Viewfinder

The part of a camera that you look through to see what you are taking a photograph of.

Lens

A piece of glass or plastic with a curved surface used to change images, usually making them larger, smaller, or clearer.

Develop a film

To make photographs or negatives visible.

Faded

Lost brightness and became less visible.

Film

The photosensitive material that is loaded into a camera.

Camera Obscura

A darkened enclosure in which images are projected through a small aperture or lens onto a facing surface.

Shutterbug

Someone who enjoys taking a lot of photographs but is not a professional photographer.

Out of focus

Not showing things clearly; blurry.

Filter

A tool used to enhance the aesthetics of a photo, popular in social media.

High key

An image in which the bright, white tones dominate the picture.

Pixel

The fundamental unit of a digital image, typically a tiny square or dot containing a single point of color.

Storyboard

A graphic organizer made of simple illustrations displayed in sequence for pre-visualizing a motion picture or media sequence.

AIDA

Classic model for persuasive writing standing for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

4 U's

Principles for strong headlines: Urgency, Unique, Useful, Ultra-Specific.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

The primary metric for headline success.

Conversion Rate

Percentage of users who complete a desired action after clicking.