Even the world of words has its own language. To converted journalists now spending their days in newsrooms, or cub journalists still learning the ropes, it can be challenging to keep up with all of the journalism slang and jargon.

For those outside the industry, these terms might feel like a foreign dialect, adding to the mystique of newsroom culture.

We created a glossary of terms used in newsrooms and their definitions, so you can stay in the know.  Whether you’re a veteran journalist, an aspiring reporter or simply a curious reader, this guide will help you navigate the language of journalism with confidence.

To find a specific term, use the Command+F feature on desktop.

(Did we miss one? Email us at tylisa@poynter.org with the journalism term you want defined.)

Journalism terms:

A1: The front page of a newspaper, where the most important news stories of the day are featured.

A-block, B-block, C-block: Sections of a broadcast production. Each broadcast show is broken into sections, which producers use to strategically place stories to keep the audience engaged. Some shows may have more “blocks” depending on how long the show is.

Advertorial: A portmanteau of “advertisement” and “editorial” that refers toa paid advertisement designed to resemble editorial content in a publication. 

Anecdotal Lede: A longer story lead, usually multiple paragraphs, that tells a human story illustrative of the story’s larger issue or point.

Angle: The perspective or viewpoint a journalist chooses to use to present the story. It’s how a reporter approaches the story reporting and frames the narrative of a story, emphasizing certain elements to spur interest or further help the audience to understand.

Attribution: Identifying the origins of the information provided and noting where the information came from (e.g. following a quote, you add attribution to let readers know who said what).

Backgrounder: An initial interview to research and learn general information that may or may not end up in a story.

Beat: A reporter’s dedicated coverage area.

Above the Fold: Stories in the upper half of the newspaper front page, above the crease created by a newspaper fold. It is also sometimes used to describe the portion of a news site homepage or article that appears when the site is loaded but the reader hasn’t yet scrolled.

Byline: The author attribution (e.g. By: Ren LaForme, managing editor). The story creator’s credit line.

Budget Line: A line a reporter gives to an editor to propose a story. Typically, a budget line includes a slug and a brief story description. An example for this article might be: TERMS: Journalism term definitions for newbies.

B-roll: Supplemental footage used to complement a story in broadcast, typically accompanied by a narration voiceover. The footage usually provides visual context for viewers.

Caption: A brief description or explanation of an image, video or graphic used in a story, often clarifying key elements or providing additional context.

Churnalism: A portmanteau of “journalism” and “churn” that refers to journalism with minimal original reporting that often relies on wire services, press releases or other sources. 

Chyron: A chyron is an on-screen graphic or text that appears during a broadcast, typically at the bottom of the screen, displaying contextual information such as a reporter or interviewee’s name, location or other details.

Column/Columnist: A column is a regular subjective feature written by a journalist or expert on a particular topic or issue. To distinguish it from objective news reporting, it is typically published in an opinion section or segment, often kept separate from the rest of the publication. A columnist is a person who writes this, offering opinions, analysis and personal anecdotes or insights.

Content Aggregator: A platform that compiles content such as news, articles and blog posts and presents them in a single place, or repurposes the information for readers.

Copyright: The legal protection granted to original works — such as articles, photographs, videos and graphics — that ensures publications or creators have exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute or adapt their work. This protection helps safeguard intellectual property while encouraging ethical use and proper attribution within the industry. Read more: “7 questions for creating a copyright agreement.”

Cut: A portion of a story or broadcast segment that has been edited or removed for length or clarity.

Cut-in: A cut-in happens when a broadcast program interrupts its scheduled, regular content with breaking news or important information. It’s a tool used to keep viewers informed on essential information in real time. Think: “We interrupt this program to bring you …”

Cutline: The caption line for a photo. For example: “Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates a touchdown with wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) during an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)”

Dateline: A line at the beginning of a news story that tells readers when and where the story was filed. Read more: “6 actual datelines that are almost as good as The Onion’s”

Dead Air: An unintentional silence or gap in the audio or broadcast. 

Deadline: The set time when a journalist is scheduled to submit a story, photograph, video or other content.

Dek: A short summary or subheading below the story headline that provides more context or detail about the story. Sometimes referred to as a subhed.

Dissolve: A gradual transition between two images or scenes in a video production.

Double Box: In broadcast TV, when a split screen shows two different video feeds simultaneously side by side, often with interviews or live coverage alongside breaking news.

Endnote: A citation or note at the bottom of a story.

Exclusive: A news story or interview published by one journalist or outlet first, before other outlets. Also when a journalist or outlet is given sole access to report on a story. 

Factoid: A small, trivial piece of information that resembles a fact, but is often misleading, oversimplified or unsubstantiated. Colloquially, it’s often just used to refer to a tidbit or inconsequential point.

Feature: A feature story goes beyond breaking news to provide a deeper exploration of a topic or human interest story.

Fact-checking: Fact-checking involves verifying the accuracy of claims, information or sources, usually before publishing or broadcasting a story. Learn more about fact-checking, how to write a clear fact-check and how PolitiFact fact-checks misleading or untrue claims.

FOIA: An acronym for the Freedom of Information Act, often used by journalists and interested citizens requesting public records and information from public or governmental institutions. Read more about FOIA here and here. Take our FOIA course!

Developing Story: An initial story has been written with established facts and will be updated as more facts become clear and available.

Enterprise: In-depth, original reporting that goes beyond routine news coverage, often uncovering untold stories or providing deeper context through investigative work, data analysis or feature storytelling. It typically requires initiative, creativity and significant time and resources to produce. In the newsroom hierarchy, reporters have historically worked toward earning venerated enterprise reporting positions.

Embargo: An agreement between a journalist, or newsroom, and a source that the information provided won’t be published or made public until a specific time or date. Embargoes are often used for particularly time-sensitive or complex news matters. Read more: “Why Bloomberg’s broken embargo matters.”

Evergreen: A story that remains relevant across time and circumstances

Freelance/Freelancer: When an independent writer, photographer or other media professional works on a per-assignment basis rather than as a staff employee. Freelancers often pitch story ideas to publications or take on assignments and are typically paid per project or article.

Guild: An organization or union that supports, represents and advocates for journalists.

Half-slab: A type of print layout in which the headline or story takes up half of the page’s width.

Hard News: Hard news refers to serious, breaking stories (a breaking news crime segment).

Hed: Another term for a story headline.

Horse Race Journalism: An old-school term for political reporting that treats minor updates in polling and campaign strategy like play-by-play announcer calls. The approach is criticized for a disproportionate focus on the odds of an election over the actual stakes. Read more about horse race journalism.

Infotainment: A portmanteau of “information” and “entertainment,” referring to broadcast or television programs intended to be both entertaining and informative. It’s often used in a derogatory way that questions the purpose of a news report or program.

Inverted Pyramid: A widely used method of reporting where the most newsworthy information is at the top of the story, and the remaining information follows in order of importance, with the least important trailing at the bottom. Read more about the inverted pyramid here and here.

Investigative Journalism: A type of journalism that involves in-depth reporting that uncovers a hidden problem, secrets or complex issues. Investigations often require significant research, resources and analysis. Sometimes also referred to as enterprise, in-depth or project reporting. Read more: “5 investigative journalism tips from New York Times’ David Barstow.”

Kerning: The spacing between letters in print text.

Kicker: The final line of a story.

Lead: The opening sentence or paragraphs of a story that usually either provide the most important facts or an anecdote illustrative of a larger topic or point the story makes. It summarizes the most important points and grabs the reader’s attention. See also: Lede, an alternative spelling.

Leadin: The introduction of a broadcast segment that sets up the main story or provides background information.

Lede: An alternate spelling for “lead” — the terms are interchangeable and refer to the opening of a story, whether broadcast or written. Read more: “‘Lead’ vs. ‘lede’: Roy Peter Clark has the definitive answer, at last.”

Letter to the Editor: A reader-submitted opinion piece published in a newspaper or magazine, typically responding to recent coverage or addressing a relevant issue. It provides a platform for public discourse, allowing individuals to share their perspectives or advocate for causes.

Libel/Slander/Defamation: False statements that harm a person’s reputation. Libel is written defamation, slander is spoken defamation, and both can lead to legal consequences if the statements are made with negligence or malice and cause demonstrable harm.

Listicle: A type of article written in the form of a list. It’s a popular format for digital content and publications, and often has catchy headlines and subheadings. (Example: 10 steps young journalists can take to get a great internship)

Live to Tape: When a segment is prerecorded and edited before it airs. This is a term usually used to distinguish from live broadcasts.

Looklive: An on-camera intro from the reporter at the beginning of a story, and at the end.

Lower Third: The graphic element typically shown on the lower part of the screen during a broadcast. It could contain the name of a source being interviewed, a title, or other relevant information.

Masthead: The section of a newspaper or publication that lists key staff members, such as the publisher, editor and other notable roles. 

Mugshot: A photo of a story subject, typically cropped tightly to include only the subject’s head and shoulders.

Nameplate: The title or headline banner on the front page of a newspaper or news website.

News Hole: The amount of time allotted for news content within a production — or space available in print — after accounting for photos, advertisements, commercials and other elements. 

Newsworthy: When a story or event is deemed worthy of coverage by a news organization or reporter.

News Hook: A compelling angle or timely element that makes a story relevant and newsworthy. It often ties a story to current events, trends or public interest topics to enhance its appeal.

Nutgraf: The paragraph that explains the gist of the story, why the story is important or relevant, and why readers should care. It often (but not always) follows the lead. 

Off the Record: When a person provides information, but the source and reporter agree the information won’t be used in a published story in a way attributable to them. Read more: “What does ‘off the record’ mean? The latest journalism controversy.”

On Background: Information provided that is used, but not attributed. Read more: “‘On background’ is common journalism lingo. What does it mean?”

On the Record: When a source agrees to provide attributable information for a story.

OTS: An abbreviation for “over the shoulder” — what a camera is showing over the news anchor’s shoulder during a segment, usually to provide context and visuals for a story.

Rundown: The news show plan. A detailed list of stories, planned news segments.

Parachute Journalism: Reporting on a story without understanding or providing local context or care for the community; usually about national outlets reporting on local issues or outlets from one country reporting on news in another country.

Paywall: A site-blocker that prevents audiences from accessing a news organization’s story without paying for a subscription or providing contact information.

Phoner: A phone interview.

Pitch: A proposal for a story idea.

PKG: An abbreviation for package, a brief news segment complete with video and audio.

Presser: A news event, press release or statement made by an organization to inform the media of an announcement, or new information.

Press Release: A written statement issued by an organization, person or group to announce news, updates or events to the media. Read more: “6 ways journalists can use press releases effectively.”

Scoop: An exclusive news story only published by one outlet or reporter (see also: exclusive).

Shield Law: A law that protects journalists from being forced to reveal their sources.

Slug: A short phrase to label and identify a news story.

Stringer: Another word for freelancer.

Soft News: Soft news refers to lighter, human-interest stories (a feature story about your local library).

SOTVO: An abbreviation for sound on tape video, or video footage that includes vocal or spoken audio or sound clips.

Sound Byte: Typically, a snippet of an interview 

Source: A person or document that provides information for a news story

Subhed: A short summary or subheading below the story headline that provides more context or detail about the story. Sometimes referred to as a dek.

Spike: To cancel or nix a story before publication.

Talkback: Similar to a Q&A. An anchor asks a reporter live in the field about the story.

Talker: A news story that will have many people talking, discussing and interested. 

TK: A placeholder used in drafts to indicate that specific information is “to come” and will be added later. The two letters are intentionally uncommon among English words, making “TK” easy to spot and replace during the editing process.

Trt: An abbreviation for total run time. The total length of a news segment or program.

Toss: When a journalist passes a story or segment along to another reporter or anchor.

Tip: Often provided by a source, a tip is a piece of information that suggests a potential story, or leads a journalist to investigate.

VO or Voiceover: When an anchor reads a script as video airs of what they’re talking about.

VOSOT: An abbreviation for voice over sound on tape — when an anchor reads a script with video that matches the words the anchor is saying.

Walk and Talk: When a reporter is on camera talking to viewers explaining what is happening at that moment near them. For example, if they’re at the strawberry festival in Plant City, Florida, they may show the food, toppings, the environment, etc. Sometimes they’ll do a live interview.

WIPE: A transition from one piece of video to another piece of video.

Wire or wire service: A news agency that gathers and distributes news stories, photos and other content to subscribing media outlets. Examples include The Associated Press (the AP) and Reuters, which provide timely, reliable coverage from around the world for use in newspapers, websites and broadcasts.

WX: An abbreviation for weather news and updates.

Yellow journalism: A somewhat antiquated term that refers to sensationalized, exaggerated or misleading reporting meant to attract attention and increase sales.

-30-: A symbol, usually reserved for drafts, to mark the end of a story.