Newspaper terms 1

Advertisement

Printed notice of something for sale paid for by the advertiser.

AP

Abbreviation for Associated Press, a wire service.

Art

Any photo, map, graph, or illustration.

Assignment

A story a reporter is detailed to cover.

Associated Press Stylebook

The standard reference source for reporters and editors on word usage, libel, numbers, titles, capitalization and commonly used words and phrases.

Balloon

A drawing, usually in a comic strip, which makes the words of a person in the picture appear to be coming directly from his mouth.

Banner

A headline in large letters running across the entire width of the first page.

Beat

A reporter's regular routine for covering news sources.

Body Copy

The main part of a story.

Bold Face

A heavy or dark type.

Box

Border around a story or photo.

Break

Initial news coverage of an event.

Broadsheet

A 'standard' or large-sized newspaper.

Budget

The lineup of news stories scheduled for the next day's newspaper.

Bullet

A large black dot used at the left edge of a column to mark each item in a series.

Byline

The name of the writer printed at the top of a story.

Caps

Abbreviation for capital letters.

Caption

A title or explanatory phrase accompanying a picture.

Carrier

A person who delivers the newspaper to subscribers.

Circulation

The total number of copies of the newspaper distributed in one day.

City Desk

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

Clip Art

A variety of art provided to newspapers on a subscription basis, for use in ads.

Clips

Articles that have been cut out of the newspaper, short for clippings.

Classified Advertising

Advertising space usually purchased in small amounts by the public and published by categories, in its own section of the newspaper.

Cold Type

Type that is produced photographically.

Color

To add color to an ad to command attention and influence buying decisions.

Color Key

The negatives for a full color photo are made positive and put together to check to see if the colors match the original photo.

Column

The arrangement of horizontal lines of type in a news story.

Column Inch

Space measurement - one column wide by one inch deep.

Columnist

A person who writes a regular column giving a personal opinion.

Compose

To set type or design pages.

Copy

All material for publication, whether written stories or pictures.

Copy Desk

Area of the newsroom where editing is done.

Copy Editor

The person who corrects or edits copy written by a reporter and writes headlines.

Copyright

An author's exclusive right of property for his works.

Correspondent

An out of town reporter.

Cover

To gather information and get facts for a story.

Credit Line

A line giving the source of a picture or art.

Crop

To eliminate portions of copy or photos by reducing the size.

Cut

To shorten newspaper copy; also means a newspaper photograph.

Cutline

The information below a picture or art, which describes it.

Dateline

The line at the beginning of a story giving the place and date of the reported incident.

Deadline

A time at which all copy for an edition must be submitted.

Dingbat

Any typographical device used for ornamentation.

Display Advertising

Large, frequently illustrated advertisements usually purchased by retail stores, manufacturers, service companies.

Dummy

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

Ear

Either corner at the top of the front page, sometimes used for weather news or special features.

Edition

The issue for one press run: home edition, state edition, final home edition, extra.

Editor

A person who directs the editorial policies; decides what news will go in the paper.

Editorial

An article expressing the opinion of the newspaper regarding a certain subject.

Extra

A special edition of the newspaper containing news too important to hold for the next regular edition.

Feature

A story of interest beyond the news value, usually to entertain.

Filler

Short news or information items used to fill small spaces in the news columns.

Five W's

Who, what, when, where, why (sometimes 'H' for how); the major questions answered in a well-written news story.

Flag

The newspaper's name on page one.

Folio

The number (s) of the page.

Follow-up

A story that adds more information to a previously printed story.

Font

A complete assortment of type of one size and face.

Four-color

When a color photo is created using the basic colors of red, yellow, blue, and black.

Fourth Estate

A traditional name for the press, indicating its role and importance in a democratic society.

Gutter

The margin between facing pages where the fold lies.

Hard News

Factual news stories without opinion.

Headline

An article title summarizing the main point for the reader.

Hot Type

Old-style type made from molten lead.

Inserts

An advertisement printed separately from the regular press run, then 'inserted' among the sections.

Inverted pyramid

A method of writing by placing parts of the story in descending order of importance.

Jump

To continue a story from one page to another.

Justify

To space out a line of type so that each line fits flush to the margin.

Kill

To strike out copy or take out type not to be printed.

Layout

To position editorial, pictorial and advertising elements on a page.

Lead

The first few sentences or the first paragraph of a news story.

Leading

The amount of space between lines.

Libel

Publication of material unjustly injurious to someone's reputation.

Logotype (logo)

A design bearing the name or trademark of a company.

Linotype

Old style machine used to produce hot type, one line at a time.

Make-up

To position editorial, pictorial and advertising elements for printing.

Managing Editor

The editor directing the daily gathering, writing, and editing of news.

Market

People the newspaper wants to attract with its news and advertising.

Masthead

Non-news features stating the title, ownership, management, and subscription details.

Morgue

An area in the building where back issues of the newspaper are kept.

National Advertising

Ads placed by agencies for clients featuring national or regional information.

Negative

A photographic image where values of the original copy are reversed.

Newsprint

The uncoated paper on which newspapers are printed.

Newsstand

A single copy account that sells newspapers over the counter.

NIE, Newspapers in Education

Program providing newspapers and curriculum services for the classroom.

Obituary (Obit)

A biography of a deceased person printed in the newspaper shortly after death.

Offset

A printing method transferring image to an intermediate surface called a 'Blanket'.