Descriptionary

five W's the five questions that must be answered in every news story—who? what? where? when? and why?

Fleet Street the London press. fluff a trite story or article.

freelance writer a nonstaff reporter who submits assigned or unassigned (unsolicited) stories to a news­paper or magazine.

gonzo journalism journalism style given a free rein; wild, outrageous reporting from a personal viewpoint, as that of Hunter Thompson.

hack any writer or reporter more concerned with making a buck than creating fine writing.

handout a press release.

hedge word any word used by a journalist as pro­tection from a libel suit, as in, "alleged," "report­edly," "reputed."

investigative journalism reporting in which sev­eral interviews are conducted along with exhaustive research.

John Garfield still dead story any rehashing of old news.

keyhole journalism unethical journalism that ignores people's right to privacy; gossip news.

kill to cancel a story.

leader a newspaper's lead story.

leg man a reporter who travels to the scene of news and phones in a story to the rewrite editor.

libel any published, false accusation; an untrue, defamatory statement.

Lindley rule a rule to be followed when using non- attributable material, such as sensitive material, by which vague phrases such as "according to official sources" are used. Also known as deep background.

managed news a government-controlled release of news. A government news release in its own interest.

morgue the reference files or reference room of a newspaper.

mouthpiece a publicist or public relations officer; a press secretary.

muckraker a journalist who exposes corruption.

op-ed a newspaper page usually located opposite the editorial page and devoted to opinion columns.

over the transom of unsolicited copy, received through the mail from freelance writers.

peg the main point or thrust of a story. photojournalism telling a story with photographs. press agent a publicity agent.

press gallery a reserved area in a government or other building for use by the press.

press kit publicity material, such as information and photos, handed out or mailed to reporters and newspapers on behalf of a corporation, organization, or movie star.

press pass a card confirming affiliation with a news­paper or magazine and used to gain free admission to a specific event.

press release a handout of a suggested article pro­vided by corporations, universities, other institutions, and press agents to gain publicity.

privileged communication the legal right of jour­nalists to keep the names of their sources confidential. See shield law.

puff a trite publicity piece.

put to bed to make the final preparations for printing.

rag nickname for a newspaper with a poor reputation.

railroad to hurry a story from writing to composing with no editing in between.

retraction a correction noting inaccurate reporting in a previous edition.

rewrite editor an editor who rewrites stories called in over the phone or who rewords press releases.

sacred cow a person or institution favored by mem­bers of the press and that they hesitate to criticize or investigate for a story.

scoop to learn of a story and publish it before the competition. Also, the story itself.

shield law the law that protects reporters from revealing their sources.

silly season a slow news period characterized by trivial news or no news.

skinny inside information.

slant the perspective or point of view of a story.

slush unsolicited manuscripts from freelancers. spike to kill a story. Also a story held for later use. spot news current news. squib a short news item.

staffer a staff reporter, as distinguished from a free­lance reporter.

state editor the editor at a large newspaper in charge of state news.

stringer a part-time freelancer who sends in stories from remote locations.

tabloid a half-sized newspaper characterized by sen­sational stories and photographs.

think piece an editorial or analysis of the news.

UPI United Press International.

vignette a very brief news item.

wire editor the editor in charge of news received from the Associated Press and other wire services.

wire service a news service, for example the Associ­ated Press or United Press International.

yellow journalism journalism that is irresponsible, sensational, and exploitive.

Book Publishing

academic press a small press or university press specializing in scholarly books.