Journalism

Paragraphs (in reporting)

2-3 sentences that provide essential facts (shorter than those in essays)

Blog

A Web log, which is a journal or newsletter that is updated frequently and published online. Contents may often be biased.

Review

A form of editorial written to comment on a play, movie, piece of music or some other creative work; can also describe restaurants and places to visit

Opinion

A personal view, belief, or attitude that can contain bias.

"lame stream media"

A scornful accusation that traditional media is biased

Secondary source

A secondhand account of an event or a retelling of another person's observations written by someone who did not witness or actually participate in the events. Examples include encyclopedias, biographies, movies, textbooks, and reviews.

Kicker

A short (one or two word) statement at the beginning of a caption that serves to grab the reader's attention

Fact

A statement is true and can be proved.

Feature

A story or report that is written with some interpretation or explanation that goes beyond just reporting the facts

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

Editorial

A type of story which serves to express an opinion and encourage the reader to take some action.

indirect quotation

Actual words are not stated but only summarized or paraphrased, quotation marks are not used

News

An account of events, facts, or opinions that interests people

Human Interest

An element of news that includes people or events with which the audience can identify; stories that are just interesting and are often uplifting. EX: articles about pets

4th estate/4th branch

Another name for the press that monitors and reports on the working of the government.

The Press

Another term for the news media or journalists, both of which provide information to the public

"fake news"

False stories that appear to look like actual news that is usually spread through the internet or other media.

By-line

Indicates who wrote the story

Headline

Large type designed to summarize a story and grab the reader's attention

mainstream media

News programming that is expected to provide a fair and unbiased presentation of facts, without any particular viewpoint.

front page, cover

Page 1, contains large headlines and most important or urgent information for the majority of people

watchdog function

the press stands ready to expose officials who violate accepted legal, ethical or performance standards

Ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions

Media

various methods for communicating information: newspapers, television, radio, internet, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Social media

websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking; contents may often be biased.

Libel

written defamation that is a published false statement that is damaging to a person's (or group's) reputation

Lead

The beginning of the story which serves to summarize the story and/or grab the reader's attention

5W's and H

The essentials of any story: who, what, when, where, why, and how

Flag

The name of the paper that usually appears at the top of page one. EX: The New York Times

Anchor

The person who reads the news on the set in the studio

"Fluff"

The writing in a news story that does not contain important information; it expands the size of the story but does not add anything important

5 News Values

Timeliness- Proximity- Conflict/Controversy- Human Interest- Relevance

Newscast

a radio or television broadcast of news reports.

direct quotation

a report of the exact words of an author or speaker, quotation marks are used

tabloid

a smaller version of a newspaper, often with more sensational news often reporting on celebrity gossip or bizarre events

Caption

a title or short description of a picture or graphic (graphic, chart, table, etc.)

Primary source of information

a true, first-hand account written by a person who experienced or witnessed the event; diary, photos, memoir, autobiography, letters, interviews

Press Release

information that an organization prepares and distributes to the media, it may contain bias

Propaganda

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. Aimed to stimulate strong emotions

Bias

showing favor or prejudice toward one thing, person, or group, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Slander

spoken defamation; damaging false statements against another person that are spoken or broadcast

Editor

the head of a news organization; person who chooses the articles that will be printed each day