C
cablese - abbreviated and skeletonized language used in transmitting news by cable to reduce transmission cost
camera - A large camera shoots a picture of each page once it is completely finished. The negative of the picture is used to create a "plate" that is used on the press
camera-ready - refers to anything that is in its finished form - no further changes are needed before it is published in the paper
canned copy - term applied to publicity material sent by press agents
caption - headline or text accompanying a picture or illustration; also called a cutline
cathode-ray tube (CRT) - a computer screen
circulation - the total number of copies of a publication distributed to subscribers and vendors in one day
city editor - the editor in charge of the collection, writing and editing of local news
classified advertising - advertising arranged according to the product or service advertised, and usually restricted in size and format. The ads are "classified" into various categories such as help wanted, autos for sale, apartments for rent, etc.
clean copy - copy requiring few corrections
clean proof - a proof requiring few corrections
clip - abbreviation for a clipping from a newspaper or from the files of the newspaper's library
color - "coloring a story" implies introducing an element of bias or editorial point of view. "Giving a story color" means brightening the story with human interest material.
column - (1) area on a news page usually 10 to 14 picas wide or 8 picas wide on a classified page (2) article appearing regularly, written by a writer or "columnist"
column inch - a unit of measurement one inch deep and one column wide
columnist - a writer using the same space daily, such as Ann Landers, in contrast to a reporter
compose - to type copy into a computer file
composition - the overall appearance of a newspaper page
condensed type - type with character that are narrower than those of standard width, permitting more characters per line
copy - (1) all written material (2) reproducing materials using a photocopier
copy desk - the desk where copy is edited, headlined and placed on the page it will appear in the newspaper
copy editor or copy reader - a person who corrects or edits copy written by reporters, checks stories for accuracy
copyediting or copyreading - correcting, improving and marking copy to be printed
copyright - legal protection of an author's exclusive right to his or her work for a specified period of time
correspondent - a reporter assigned to cover work away from the home office in another city, state or country. A "string" correspondent is not a full-time employee of the newspaper, and is paid according to the quantity of copy accepted by the newspaper. See also stringer.
cover - to get all the available news about an event
credit line - a photographer's byline. The name of the person or organization responsible for making or distributing a photograph, usually appearing small type under the reproduced picture
crop - to change the composition of a picture by cutting part of it out. A picture may be cropped to remove undesired background, to create more impact or to adjust the photograph to available space on the printed page.
crusade - a newspaper campaign to bring about a desired reform or improvement
cub - a beginning reporter
cut - (1) noun - a drawing or illustration usually copied off of computer disk libraries (2) verb - to reduce the length of a story
cutline - the copy (usually only a few lines) that accompanies and gives necessary information about a picture or "cut".
D
daily - refers to newspapers that print a new newspaper each day
dateline - line at the beginning of a story for out of town that indicates both the place and the date of origin of the story
deadline - the last moment to get copy in for an edition
deck - a "bank" or section of a headline
dingbat - typographic decorative device, such as a star or heart
display ad - advertising matter other than in-column classified ads. They usually have a border.
dog watch - the late shift on a morning paper, or the earliest shift on an afternoon paper.
dope - advance information, often based on gossip or rumor
downstyle - capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns in headlines
drop - (1) short for "drop head", a headline accompanying a streamer and based on the same story. (2) a story that was planned to run and then didn't
dummy - a diagram or layout of a newspaper page showing the position each story, picture, headline and advertisement is to have
E
ears - space at the top of the front page on each side of the newspaper's name where weather news, index to pages or announcement of special features appears
edition - a press run of a newspaper. A daily generally has more than one edition a day - for example, "City Edition", "Lakeshore Edition", "Early Edition", "Late Edition"
editorial - (1) an article that expresses the opinion of the newspaper's editors and usually also reflects the opinion of the publisher or owner of the newspaper (2) the department of the newspaper where news is gathered, written, edited and readied for publication
editorial cartoon - cartoon that expresses an opinion about a news personality, issue or event
editorialize - to express an opinion in a news story or a headline. Editorializing in the news columns is not considered good journalism.
em - unit of measuring column widths. An em (for the letter M) is a square of any given size of type, and is most frequently used as the unit in measuring "pica" (the width of an em in 12-point type).
en - half of an em
exchanges - copies of newspapers received by a paper when it exchanges subscriptions with other papers. Some large newspapers have an exchange editor to scan these papers.
exclusive - a story printed by only one paper; a scoop
extended type - type with characters that are wider or have more space between them than those of standard width; fewer characters can be used in a line.
extra - an edition other than a regular one. Today it is published only when an event of transcending news importance warrants it.
Back to Top
F-J
