The Newsroom Dictionary
The language of journalism, in plain English
Every trade has its own words, and journalism has more than most. This is a working glossary of the terms you will hear in a newsroom, each one explained simply and, where Simon Townsend wrote about it, linked straight to the factsheet where he teaches it.
The shape of a story
Angle
The specific way into a story: the particular point of view or emphasis that makes a broad subject into one publishable piece.
Body
The main run of a story after the intro, where the detail, quotes and background are laid out in order of importance.
Headline
The bold line that sits over a story to grab attention and tell the reader, fast, what it is about.
Intro
The first paragraph of a story. In British and Australian newsrooms, "intro" is the common word for what Americans call the lede.
Inverted pyramid
The classic news structure: most important information first, least important last, so a story can be cut from the bottom.
Kicker
A short line above the headline that flags the topic or section, or a punchy final line that ends a story neatly.
Lede
The opening sentence or two of a news story, written to pull the reader straight in with the most important point.
Nut graf
The paragraph, usually just after the lede, that tells the reader what the story is about and why it matters now.
Par
Newsroom shorthand for a paragraph, the basic unit a story is written and measured in.
Standfirst
The short block of intro text between the headline and the body, setting up the story and tempting the reader in.
Tail
The last few lines of a story. In hard news it is the least vital detail; in a feature it is the payoff that lands the ending.
Kinds of story
Beat-up
A story exaggerated well beyond its real importance to make it seem bigger than it is.
Colour piece
A story that recreates the atmosphere of an event or place through vivid detail, so the reader feels they were there.
Editorial
The article that gives the publication's own opinion on an issue, written without a byline and speaking for the masthead.
Feature
A longer, more crafted story that explores a subject in depth, with more colour and shape than a hard news report.
Hard news
News of serious, timely events such as politics, crime, courts and disasters, reported straight and fast.
Investigative journalism
In-depth reporting that digs out information someone wants hidden, usually exposing wrongdoing in the public interest.
Obituary
An account of a person's life published soon after their death, recording who they were and what they did.
Op-ed
A signed opinion article, traditionally printed opposite the editorial page, arguing a personal viewpoint on an issue.
Review
A considered opinion piece that judges a book, film, show, restaurant or other work to inform and guide the reader.
Soft news
News built around human interest, lifestyle and entertainment rather than urgent events, written to engage as much as to inform.
Yarn
Journalists' slang for a story, particularly a lively, readable one built around a strong narrative.
People and roles
Byline
The line that names the journalist who wrote the story, usually sitting just under the headline.
Chief of staff
The newsroom editor who runs the daily diary, assigns reporters to stories and decides what gets covered.
Correspondent
A reporter who covers a specific field or region, often from a distance, such as a foreign or political correspondent.
Fixer
A local who arranges access, translation and logistics for a visiting reporter, especially on foreign or difficult stories.
Ghost writer
A writer who produces a book, article or speech that is published under someone else's name.
Rounds
A reporter's regular subject area or patch, such as police rounds, the courts round or the health round.
Stringer
A freelance reporter who files stories to a publication from a particular place or beat, paid per piece rather than on staff.
Sub-editor
The editor who checks, corrects and trims a reporter's copy, writes the headline, and gets it ready for the page.
Getting and using information
Background
The context and history a reporter gathers to make sense of a story, and the explainer piece that lays that context out for readers.
Beat
The subject area a reporter covers regularly. Close to "rounds", and also slang for getting a story before rivals.
Doorstop
An impromptu interview, usually a scrum of reporters putting questions to someone as they arrive or leave.
Embargo
A condition on a press release or report that you may not publish it before a set time and date.
Exclusive
A story or interview that one outlet has secured and no rival has, giving it sole possession of the news.
FOI
A legal right to request documents held by government, used by reporters to prise out information that is not volunteered.
Leak
Confidential information passed to a journalist by someone not authorised to release it, often the seed of a big story.
Media release
An official statement sent to news outlets by an organisation, written to announce something and angle it favourably.
Off the record
Information a source gives you on the understanding you will not publish it or name them. Often misunderstood, so pin it down.
On background
Information you can use but not attribute by name, usually under an agreed label like "a senior official".
On the record
Information a source agrees you can publish and attribute to them by name. The default you should always aim for.
Scoop
A piece of important news that one reporter or outlet gets and publishes before all rivals.
Shorthand
A system of rapid symbol writing that lets a reporter take down speech word for word, faster than longhand.
Source
A person or document that gives a journalist information for a story. The whole trade runs on finding and protecting them.
Vox pop
A quick round of street interviews with ordinary people, from the Latin vox populi, the voice of the people.
Whistleblower
An insider who reveals wrongdoing in their own organisation to a journalist or authority, often at great personal risk.
Wire service
A news agency that gathers reports and supplies them to many subscribing outlets at once, such as AAP, Reuters or Associated Press.
Quotes and attribution
Attribution
Telling the reader who said or supplied a piece of information, so they can judge where it came from.
Direct quote
A speaker's exact words, set inside quotation marks and credited to them. The most powerful tool a reporter has.
Indirect quote
A speaker's meaning reported in your own words, without quotation marks, still credited to them.
Paraphrase
Restating what someone said in your own words while keeping their meaning. Close cousin of the indirect quote.
Said
The plain attribution verb. Simon's rule: almost always use "said", because it disappears and lets the quote do the work.
Production and the page
Caption
The line of text under a photo that says what or who it shows. Americans often call it a cutline.
Copy
The text of a story as written by the journalist, the raw material that editing turns into a finished page.
Credit line
The small line naming the photographer or supplier of an image, the photo's equivalent of a byline.
Dateline
The line at the start of a report naming the place, and sometimes the date, from which the story was filed.
Deadline
The fixed time by which a story must be filed, the discipline the whole news operation is built around.
Folio
The line at the top or bottom of a page carrying the page number, publication name and date.
Galley
A proof copy of a story or page, pulled before printing so it can be checked and corrected.
Kill fee
A reduced payment a freelancer gets when a commissioned story is accepted but then not published.
Masthead
The publication's title as it appears at the top of the front page, and by extension the publication itself.
Pull quote
A short, striking quotation lifted from a story and printed large on the page to catch the reader's eye.
Sidebar
A short, self-contained item that runs alongside a main story to add facts, background or a related angle.
Slug
A short code word that labels a story through production so everyone knows which file is which.
Spike
To kill a story so it never runs. From the old metal spike editors jammed rejected copy onto.
Splash
The lead story on the front page, the biggest and most prominent piece in the paper that day.
Style guide
A publication's rulebook for spelling, punctuation and usage, so that everything it prints stays consistent.
Law and ethics
Chequebook journalism
Paying a source for their story or an interview, a practice many see as corrupting the information it buys.
Contempt of court
Publishing something that could prejudice a fair trial or defy a court order. It can land a journalist in jail.
Copyright
The legal right of a creator to control the use of their work, which a freelancer sells or licenses to publishers.
Defamation
Publishing something that damages a person's reputation. The single biggest legal risk a journalist runs.
Fair comment
A defamation defence for honestly held opinion on a matter of public interest, based on true facts. Now often called honest opinion.
Plagiarism
Passing off someone else's words or work as your own, the one sin that can end a journalist's career outright.
Qualified privilege
A legal defence that protects fair, accurate reporting of certain matters, such as court and parliament, even if defamatory.
Right of reply
Giving the subject of a critical story a genuine chance to respond before you publish. Both an ethical duty and a legal shield.
Syndication
The sale of the same article, column or cartoon to many different publications, earning the writer repeat fees from one piece of work.