Legislative Terms
act
A bill or measure after it passes one or both chambers of Congress; also used to describe a law that is in place.
adjournment
The end of a legislative day and any business of that day; different from recess, which does not end the day.
adjournment sine die
Adjournment without formally setting the next meeting time; used to call the end of the Congressional session.
advice and consent
The constitutional power Senate has to weigh in on and confirm any Presidential appointments or international treaties.
amendment
A proposal by a member of Congress to change the language, provisions or stipulations in a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, treaty or in another amendment. The House Rules Committee predetermines the number and type of amendments that are relevant to a particular bill when it goes to the House floor. In the Senate, any senator may offer an amendment on the Senate floor.
appropriation
Legislation that provides funds for a specific purpose.
authorization
The legislative action that establishes a program and the general amount of money to fund that program; the program is not given funds until there is an appropriation.
bill
A proposed law.
conferees
The House and Senate appoint conferees to a conference committee to resolve differences between House and Senate-passed versions of the same legislation.
discretionary funds
Funds that a federal or state agency can award without publishing annual funding priorities.
majority leader
The leader of the majority party in the Senate is called the majority leader. The majority leader in the House is second in command of the majority party, after the speaker.
markup
The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend and rewrite proposed legislation.
minority leader
The leader of the minority party in the House or Senate.
ranking member
The member of the majority party who ranks first in seniority after the chair on a committee or subcommittee.
ranking minority member
The highest ranking (and usually longest-serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
recess
A temporary interruption of business; unlike adjournment. Generally, the Senate recesses (rather than adjourns) at the end of each calendar day. The House usually adjourns from day to day. The Senate often recesses, thus meeting on the same legislative day for several calendar days or even weeks at a time.
resolution
A formal statement of a decision or opinion by the House or Senate or both. A simple resolution is made by one chamber and generally deals with that chamber's rules or prerogatives. A concurrent resolution is presented in both chambers and usually expresses a Congressional view on a matter not within Congressional jurisdiction. A joint resolution also requires approval in both chambers and goes to the president for approval. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the president.
rider
A provision added to a bill so it may "ride" to approval on the strength of the bill. Generally, riders are placed on appropriations bills. Also known as "pork barrel" legislation.
Speaker of the House
Presides over the House of Representatives. Elected, in effect, by the majority party in the House; next in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president.
table a bill
A proposal to remove a bill from immediate consideration; often used to kill a measure.
unanimous consen
A time-saving procedure for non-controversial measures whereby measures are adopted without a vote. A member simply says "I ask unanimous consent for ..." and states the proposal.
whip
A legislator who is chosen to be assistant to the leader of the party. Whips are chosen in both the House and the Senate.
*The following documents were gratefully consulted to compile this list:
- The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Glossary of Legislative Terms
- The American Academy of Adolescent & Child Psychology Glossary of Legislative Terms
- The Capitol.net Glossary of Congressional and Legislative Terms
Media Terms
assignment editor
Staff member of a television or radio news team who judges which story ideas are appropriate for reporters to cover.
audience
A group of spectators, listeners, viewers or readers of a performance, program or work; the people you want to reach.
boilerplate
A brief paragraph describing who you are, what you do, and how you do it; can be used as the first paragraph in a biography or last paragraph in a news release.
booker
The staff person at a TV, radio or cable program who arranges guest appearances.
byline
The name printed below the title of a newspaper or magazine article crediting the author.
circulation
The distribution and/or the rate of distribution of newspapers, magazines and other print publications.
"client pays" wire service
A service that distributes news or feature stories that are provided and paid for by clients to the print and broadcast media.
clip or clipping
A story cut from a publication or a segment cut from a video or audiotape.
contributing reporter or writer: A freelance or non-staff writer.
copy editor
The last person to see and approve written material before it goes out to its audience; the person responsible for its accuracy, grammar and length.
editing
The act of reading, viewing, listening, rewriting and cutting print publications, video or audio in order to focus the story.
editor
The person who does the editing of stories for writers and producers.
editorial
A statement of opinion from an editor or publisher; an article or segment where the news staff openly expresses a bias.
editorial calendar
The planning guide for when a publication will focus on specific topics or special sections.
exclusive
A news item or feature article printed or broadcast by only one newspaper, magazine or television station.
freelancer
A writer who sells writing services and is not tied to any individual publication or organization.
frequency
The number of times a publication is issued in a given period (i.e., daily, weekly, quarterly).
ghostwrite
A person who writes books, articles, etc. for another person who claims to be the author.
lead time
The amount of time that reporters and producers need to prepare stories and information for publication or broadcast.
letter to the editor
An open letter written by readers to a newspaper or magazine to congratulate, discuss, or criticize a previous article.
masthead
The list of editors, publishers and senior reporters in each publication's issue; magazines will sometimes also publish an advertising masthead listing the advertising staff.
media
All the means of communication"such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, online publications"that provide the public with news and entertainment.
media outlet
A publication or broadcast program that distributes news and feature stories to the public.
network
A group of broadcast or radio stations operating as a unit; network affiliates often will use the same editorial material.
news
Reports of recent events, especially those distributed through the media.
news feature
A special story or article in a print publication that elaborates on the ideas and concepts of a news item.
op-ed page
The page opposite the editorial page of a newspaper, used for columns and opinion article written by staff members or experts in the topic; different from letters to the editor.
periodical
A publication that appears at regular intervals, i.e., weekly or monthly.
pitch letter
A letter written to a member of the media (i.e., editor, reporter, producer) suggesting a story idea or source.
producer
The person in charge of the coordination of all details, including editorial content, pertaining to a television or radio program, or of an online publication.
publication
The general term for a newspaper, magazine or newsletter with information, news, and feature stories; usually for sale.
reach
The geographic area of the audience a media outlet can access; usually quantified as a number of readers, listeners or viewers.
reporter
A person who gathers information and writes reports for publication in a newspaper, magazine, newsletter or television and radio broadcast.
round-up story
An article or feature intended to review a subject or ongoing issue over a period of time, i.e. the last month or year.
sidebar
A column of copy and/or graphics which appears next to a print article to communicate information that relates to or complements the story.
spin
A particular point of view or slant given to a story to make it more appealing or to make something appear favorable.
specialized publication
Industry-specific trade or professional publication.
syndicated
A report or article that appears in more than one media outlet.
syndicated columnist
A person hired by publications or broadcast organizations to produce written or spoken commentary about specific feature subjects. A syndicated print column is usually published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines or on many local networks.
wire service
A subscription service that provides news stories, features, etc. directly to media outlets.
