50 common terms in news writing
Here are 50 common terms used in news writing:
- AP Style: A style guide used by many news organizations, which dictates how to write and format news stories.
- Angle: The unique perspective or spin given to a story.
- Attribution: The source of information or quote in a story.
- Beat: A specific area of coverage, such as politics or sports.
- Brief: A short summary of a story.
- Byline: The name of the journalist who wrote the story.
- Caption: A description of a photo or graphic.
- Cutline: A brief description of a photo or graphic.
- Dateline: The location where the story takes place.
- Deadline: The time by which a story must be filed.
- Exclusive: A story that is only available to one publication or outlet.
- Fact-check: Verifying the accuracy of information in a story.
- Follow-up: A subsequent story that updates or expands on a previous one.
- Headline: The title of a story.
- Hook: A catchy opening sentence or phrase that grabs the reader's attention.
- Inverted pyramid: A structure for writing news stories, with the most important information first.
- Lead: The opening sentence or paragraph of a story.
- Lede: Another term for the lead.
- Link: A connection or relationship between two or more stories.
- Lede-in: A story that is written in a more narrative style, with a focus on storytelling.
- Media alert: A notification sent to journalists about an upcoming event or announcement.
- News hook: A timely or relevant angle that makes a story newsworthy.
- News peg: A specific event or development that makes a story timely.
- Obits: Short for obituaries, which are notices of deaths.
- Pitch: A proposal or idea for a story.
- Quote: A direct statement or quote from a source.
- Raw copy: Unedited or unproofed text.
- Rewrite: A revised version of a story.
- Scoop: A story that is exclusive or has not been reported by others.
- Sidelight: A secondary or supporting story.
- Slug: A brief description or summary of a story.
- Source: A person or organization that provides information or quotes for a story.
- Standalone: A story that is self-contained and does not require additional context.
- Story idea: A concept or proposal for a story.
- Style guide: A set of guidelines for writing and formatting news stories.
- Subhead: A secondary headline or title within a story.
- Summary: A brief overview of a story.
- Timeline: A chronological account of events.
- Trend: A pattern or direction in which something is moving.
- Update: A revised version of a story that includes new information.
- Verbatim: A direct quote, often used to convey the exact words spoken by a source.
- Wire service: A news organization that distributes news stories to other outlets.
- Word count: The number of words in a story.
- Zinger: A catchy or memorable quote or phrase.
- Attribution line: A line that credits the source of a quote or information.
- Boilerplate: A standard or generic statement or description.
- Buzzword: A popular or trendy term or phrase.
- Caption writer: A person who writes captions for photos or graphics.
- Copy editor: A person who reviews and edits written content.
- Stringer: A freelance journalist who contributes to a news organization.
These terms are commonly used in news writing and are essential for journalists to know in order to effectively communicate with each other and produce high-quality news stories.