5W'S & H The essentials of any story: who, what, when, where, why, and how
ADVERTiSING Space in a publication sold to other businesses; display ads usually contain headlines, illustrations, copy, a call for action and information to identify the business
ALIGNMENT Refers to the justification of text at its margins; left, right, centered, justified
BEAT A specific area assigned to a reporter for regular coverage
BOLD Type which appears darker than surrounding type of the same family; used for emphasis
BY-LINE Indicates who wrote the story; often includes the writer's title
CAPTION The portion of the layout which explains what is happening in a photograph. Also called cutlines. Often includes a photo credit.
COLUMN A vertical division of layout which aids in giving structure to a page
DOMINANT The largest photograph on a layout
EDITOR Has overall responsibility for the publication
EDITORIAL A type of story which serves to express an opinion and encourage the reader to take some action
ETHICS A standard of conduct based on moral beliefs
FACT A statement that can be proven. Not an opinion
FEATURE A story written with some interpretation that goes beyond just reporting the facts
FLAG The name of the paper that usually appears at the top of page one
GRAPHICS The use of lines, screens, boxes, large initial letters etc. to enhance a design by breaking up areas
GRID SYSTEM A system of layout in which the page is divided into small units which are filled in
HAMMER A form of headline consisting of a few very large words over a smaller subheadline
HEADLINE Large type designed to summarize a story and grab the reader's attention
HUMAN INTEREST An element of news that includes people or events with which the audience can identify; stories that are just interesting
INTERVIEW A question and answer session between a reporter and source to get information for a story
INVERTED PYRAMID A style of writing most commonly applied to news stories in which the most important facts appear early in the story and less important facts later in the story
KICKER A short (one or two word) statement at the beginning of a caption that serves to grab the reader's attention
LEAD The beginning of the story which serves to summarize the story and/or grab the reader's attention
LIBEL Written defamation; damaging false statements against another person or institution that are in writing or are spoken from a written script
NEWS Information delivered about an event shortly after it has occurred
OP-ED Opinion/Editorial; refers to the pages in a publication that express the opinion of the writer
OPINION A statement which cannot be proven.
QUOTATION A statement make by another person included in a published story. A direct quotation is exactly what the person said and appears inside quotation marks. An indirect quote is a paraphrase of what a person said and does not appear in quotes.
REPORTER Person who researches and generally writes stories assigned by editors
REVIEW A form of editorial written to comment on a play, movie, piece of music or some other creative work
SANS SERIF Type with no extension at the letters which is easier to read at large sizes
SERIF An extension at the end of certain letters which make the type easier to read at text sizes
SLANDER Spoken defamation; damaging false statements against another person or institution that are spoken
SPREAD Two facing pages that are designed as one unit
STAFF BOX A box containing the names of the staff members
STORY A block of text on a single topic beginning with some form of a lead followed by the body that contains quotations and transitions
TEXT WRAP Adjusting the appearance of text to follow the shape of a graphic
TRANSITION The portion of the story which helps the reader move from one point to the next: helps a story flow, adds information, and explains other items in the story
UNDERLINE A smaller headline set under the main headline that is approximately the same length as the main headline
WHITE SPACE The portion of a page with nothing on it used to draw a viewer into the other elements on the page