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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.
