Glossary
A-B , C-D , E-G , H-I , K-M , O-P , R-S , T-Y
Actuality
Pictures and/or sound recorded at an event.
Advertorial
Advertising presented as editorial. Ethically, it should be labelled as advertising or an advertising feature or section, but often it is not. Sometimes it is advertising disguised as news.
Angle
Key point to be emphasised in a news story's first sentence—its intro—whether in print or broadcast.
Backbench
Senior editorial production staff such as the night editor.
Backgrounder
A news or feature story that focuses on interpretation of an issue or circumstance, providing explanatory detail or analysis not suited to a conventional news story format.
Blockline
A caption for a photograph.
Breakout
A small, separate article within a large article or feature. It is often placed in a box or panel and explains or elaborates on particular points or side issues raised in the main article.
Broadsheet
Large-format newspaper such as The Sydney Morning Herald, pages of which are twice the size of a tabloid such as The Daily Telegraph.
Byline
Reporter's name, usually at the beginning of a story but sometimes tagged at the end.
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C - D
Clip
A cutting or 'tear-sheet' of a newspaper story.
Column centimetres
A measure of the length of a print story calculated to a formula based on the actual physical length the story would be if printed in a set font and point size in a single column of a set width. Length and word count obviously vary depending on column width, font, and font size.
Conference
Also referred to as the editor's conference, or news conference. A meeting attended by senior editorial staff to plan the next day's paper.
Copy
Any material written for publication.
Crop
To excise unwanted portions from a photograph.
Cross promotion
A technique used by one media company which has an interest in different media—for example, a television network and a magazine publisher—to advertise and/or promote each medium in the other.
Cue
To prepare material, in sequence, for broadcast. Also means a signal to begin or finish.
Cut
To reduce the size of a story.
Deadline
The latest time a reporter can submit a story for editing, or when a sub-editor must submit a page for production processes.
Deck
The number of lines in a headline: for example, a three-deck head means three rows of type in a headline.
Dummy
Layout or diagram—either on paper or on a computer screen—of a page, or pages, showing the size and position of advertising, and the space remaining to be filled by the editorial department.
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E - G
Edition
A newspaper issue targeted for a specific area or region. Metropolitan newspapers may print several editions, or press runs. Usually the day's first edition is the state edition for non-metropolitan areas.
Embargo
The release of material on the proviso that it not be published or broadcast prior to a specified date and time.
Follow-up
An updated story of a story already broadcast or published.
Grab
Recorded sound, usually from an interview, to be included in a broadcast report.
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H - I
Hook
A particular fact, event, or angle an article, or part of an article, is built around.
House style
A set of internal rules adopted by a media outlet with the aim of ensuring consistency of grammar, spelling, word use, punctuation, etc.
Intro
Sometimes also called the lead. It is a news story's first sentence. Normally intros are one-sentence paragraphs.
Introduction
The same as an intro in a print news story, but in a radio news story or a print feature article may take in two or more sentences after an intro sentence.
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K - M
Kill a story
Delete or not use it. Similar to spiking but more final.
Lead
See intro. Also may refer to page lead, or main story on a page.
Lift, lifting
A dubious and unprofessional practise—which carries the danger of becoming outright plagiarism—of news outlets adopting stories, story lines, and/or quotes from other news outlets.
Make-up
Designing or laying out a page.
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O - P
Omni-directional mike
Microphone that responds to sounds from any direction on an equal basis.
Package
The totality of a television news report. May include scripted report by the presenter, a stand-up from the reporter, and interviews with talent. Also used in radio journalism when referring to a composite report.
Pic
Photograph.
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R - S
Rounds
Called 'beats' in the US, these refer to specific coverage areas of interest for reporters such as the health rounds journalist.
Slug, or slug-line
A word or two used by a reporter to identify or 'tag' a story so that it can be readily identified in short, computerised news lists and located by sub-editors preparing to edit it.
Spike a story
Not print it. But sometimes the story might be revived for another edition.
Spill
When a story begins on one page and continues onto another. Sometimes also called a roll-over. Known as jumps in the US.
Splash
Front page lead story.
Standfirst
A broad introduction to a story which sits between the headline and intro. Often written by a sub-editor.
Stand-up
Reporter speaking directly to camera, usually from the site of a news event.
Stringer
A regular correspondent for a newspaper or broadcast outlet who is not a staff member.
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T - Y
Tabloid
A 'half-size' newspaper when compared with a broadsheet. Is of A3 size. 'Tabloid' also may be a generic, negative term referring to sensationalist journalism.
Talent
Person or people being interviewed for a radio or television news story.
Throw
A transition device, usually scripted, that involves the presenter introducing the reporter or the reporter introducing an interviewee into a report.
Voicer
Audio from a radio reporter, usually from the site of a news event.
Vox pop
A technique used to obtain a snapshot of public opinion on an issue by randomly asking people in a public place what they think. From the Latin vox populi, meaning 'voice of the people'.
Wrap
Includes a voicer from a radio reporter combined with interviews and a studio introduction. Also used as a television term to mean the bundling together of two or more stories.
Write-off
A very short item on the front page of a newspaper pointing to a larger story inside.
Yarn
A newspaper story.
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A beginner's glossary of online terms
Blog
A 'web log' of an individual's thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Often self-opinionated and commonly in the style of a diary or journal.
Browser
Software that channels Internet data to a computer and presents it as text, images, and sounds. Internet Explorer is the most popular web browser.
Broadband
A high speed 'always on' Internet connection.
Domain codes
Abbreviated terms that are part of Internet and web addresses. For instance '.gov' stands for government, '.edu' for educational, etc.
Email
A message system that lets users communicate with individuals and groups via the Internet.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. Software that allows the transfer of files to and from distant computers.
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language. An online language that provides the coding that makes World Wide Web pages look the way they do.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Represents computers' communication instructions for sending and receiving Internet data.
Hyperlink
A highlighted word or phrase, often within text, that can connect a user to other websites.
Internet
A multitude of interlinked computer networks throughout the world that can be accessed through a modem and accessed through telephone lines, or via other network protocols. It makes possible the transmission of text, images, sound, and video.
Internet bulletin-board systems
Specialist sites, usually provided by a group or company, that provide information to users; also discussion forums.
Internet directory
An Internet database of files that researchers have structured in subjects or categories.
Multiple-access search engines
Also known as meta-search engines. These permit multiple search engines and subject directories to be used simultaneously from one search platform.
Newsgroups
Forums for people interested in particular topics, in which documents can be sought and messages left to be answered.
Search engines
Services that allow users to access information from many websites, through keyword searches: for example, Google.
URL
Universal Resource Locator, or web address. In sequence it is read as: source type://hostdomain/path [or directory/filename].
Usenet
A network of newsgroups.
World Wide Web
Otherwise known as the web. The umbrella system that provides access to files containing 'web pages', which contain text, audio, and pictures.
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