English for Journalism: Essential Vocabulary & Phrases

"off the record"

Information provided by a source that cannot be published or attributed to that person by name

"The senator spoke off the record about the budget dispute, so the reporter could not quote her directly."

"deep background"

Information that may inform a story but cannot be attributed to any source, even anonymously

"The intelligence officer spoke on deep background, allowing the journalist to confirm the general direction but cite nothing."

"on background"

Information that can be used in a story but attributed only to a general description, not a named source

"The spokesperson agreed to speak on background, so the article referred to "a senior government official.""

"follow the money"

A reporting strategy that traces financial flows to expose corruption or hidden interests

"The investigative team decided to follow the money and discovered that campaign donations led back to a foreign lobbying firm."

"doorstep interview"

An unannounced visit by a journalist to a subject at their home or workplace to request comment

"Unable to reach the executive by phone, the reporter conducted a doorstep interview outside his house the following morning."

"source corroboration"

The process of confirming information from one source with at least one additional independent source

"The editor required source corroboration before the newspaper would publish the explosive allegations."

"freedom of information request"

A formal legal mechanism allowing journalists to access government-held documents and data

"The reporter filed a freedom of information request and obtained internal emails showing the minister had been warned months earlier."

"stringer"

A freelance journalist who contributes content to a news organisation on a piece-by-piece basis without a permanent contract

"The newspaper relied on a local stringer in Nairobi to provide eyewitness reporting from the protest."

"inverted pyramid"

A news writing structure that places the most important information first, followed by supporting details in descending order of significance

"The editor reminded the intern to use the inverted pyramid so that readers get the key facts in the opening paragraph."

"lede"

The opening sentence or paragraph of a news story that captures the essential who, what, when, where, and why

"After three rewrites, the reporter finally crafted a lede that conveyed the human stakes of the housing crisis."

"nut graf"

A paragraph near the top of a feature story that explains why the story matters and provides essential context

"The nut graf in the profile explained why a single school principal in rural Alabama had become a national symbol of education reform."

"house style"

A publication's specific rules governing spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage to ensure consistency

"The new subeditor spent her first week learning the house style, including how the paper handled job titles and dates."

"standfirst"

A brief summary or introductory paragraph set between the headline and the body text of an article, also called a deck

"The standfirst promised readers an exclusive look at internal documents revealing the scale of the data breach."

"pull quote"

A short, striking quotation extracted from an article and displayed prominently in larger type as a design element

"The designer selected a pull quote from the survivor's account to draw readers into the feature spread."

"sidebar"

A short supplementary article or box placed alongside the main story to provide related facts or context

"A sidebar listing key dates in the merger talks helped readers follow a complex business story."

"byline"

The line crediting the author or authors of a published article, typically appearing between the headline and the body text

"She was proud to see her byline on the front page for the first time after joining the paper as a junior reporter."

"copy editing"

The process of checking a written piece for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and factual accuracy before publication

"Thorough copy editing caught a significant factual error in the statistics paragraph before the story went live."

"subeditor"

A journalist who edits and prepares other reporters' copy for publication, often writing headlines and captions

"The subeditor rewrote the headline to be more specific and trimmed 200 words from the body copy without losing any facts."

"spike"

To kill or reject a story that has been submitted but will not be published

"The editor decided to spike the exposé after lawyers warned that several claims could not yet be adequately substantiated."

"embargo"

A restriction requiring that information must not be published or broadcast before a specified time or date

"All journalists attending the government briefing agreed to honour the embargo until midnight when the official announcement was made."

"running story"

A developing news event that is updated continuously as new information emerges

"The digital team updated the running story on the earthquake every fifteen minutes as rescue operations continued."

"splash"

The main front-page story in a print newspaper, given the most prominent display

"The editor held the splash for the exclusive interview, pushing other stories to inside pages."

"stone sub"

A subeditor who makes final corrections and adjustments to pages at the very last stage before printing

"The stone sub spotted a widowed line on the front page and tightened the copy by three words to fix it."

"crop"

To cut or trim a photograph to improve its composition or fit a specific layout space

"The picture editor chose to crop the image tightly around the subject's face to create more impact on the page."

"package"

A self-contained pre-recorded broadcast news report combining voiceover, interviews, and natural sound

"The reporter filed a two-minute package from the flood zone that aired on the evening news bulletin."

"piece to camera"

A segment in which the reporter speaks directly to the camera, typically filmed on location to establish presence at a story

"She recorded a piece to camera outside the courthouse to confirm she was reporting live from the scene of the verdict."

"vox pop"

Short interviews with ordinary members of the public recorded on the street to gauge opinion

"The producer asked for vox pop footage from commuters reacting to the fare increase before the programme went to air."

"two-way"

A live or recorded exchange between a studio anchor and a reporter at the scene of a story

"The foreign correspondent conducted a two-way with the presenter from Beirut, giving context to the latest developments."

"natural sound"

Ambient audio recorded at a news location that adds atmosphere and authenticity to a broadcast report

"The editor insisted on keeping a few seconds of natural sound — the crowd's chants — at the top of the package."

"cue"

The introduction written by a programme anchor or presenter to lead into a reporter's broadcast package or live report

"The presenter read the cue carefully and introduced the package on the budget cuts without stumbling over any unfamiliar names."

"actuality"

A recording of real events or real people speaking, used in a radio or television report to add authenticity

"The actuality of the prime minister's resignation speech was broadcast in full before the correspondent's analysis."

"live shot"

A live broadcast from a location, typically with a reporter standing in front of a visually relevant background

"The live shot from outside the embassy gave the story immediacy even though no new developments had occurred since morning."

"clickbait"

Headline or content designed primarily to attract clicks through sensationalism or misleading promises rather than genuine news value

"The editor banned clickbait headlines, insisting that every title accurately reflect the content of the story."

"SEO headline"

A headline written with search engine optimisation in mind, incorporating keywords that target audiences are likely to search for

"The digital team rewrote the print headline as an SEO headline that included the full name of the policy and the year."

"engagement metric"

A measurable indicator of how audiences interact with content, such as time on page, shares, comments, or scroll depth

"Engagement metrics revealed that interactive graphics held readers on the page more than three times longer than plain text."

"verification"

The process of confirming the authenticity of user-generated content, social media posts, images, or videos before publishing

"The verification team used geolocation and metadata analysis to confirm the footage had genuinely been filmed in Kyiv."

"live blog"

A continuously updated web page that covers a breaking news event in real time with short posts, links, and multimedia

"More than half a million readers followed the election live blog, which was updated every few minutes throughout the night."

"audience analytics"

Data gathered about how readers consume digital content, used to inform editorial and distribution decisions

"Audience analytics showed that stories about housing consistently outperformed national politics among the paper's core readership."

"paywall"

A system that restricts access to online content, requiring readers to subscribe or pay before viewing certain articles

"After introducing a metered paywall, the newspaper converted three percent of regular readers into paying subscribers within a year."

"native advertising"

Paid promotional content designed to match the look and editorial feel of the surrounding journalism

"The ethics policy required that all native advertising be labelled clearly so readers could distinguish it from editorial content."

"shield law"

Legislation that protects journalists from being compelled to reveal the identity of confidential sources in court

"The reporter refused to name her source, citing the state's shield law, and the judge ultimately ruled in her favour."

"right of reply"

The opportunity given to an individual or organisation to respond to allegations made about them before publication

"The paper gave the minister a full 48-hour right of reply before publishing allegations that he had misused public funds."

"sub judice"

A legal principle restricting media coverage of matters that are currently before a court to avoid prejudicing the outcome

"The editor held back several details of the arrest report because the case was sub judice and publication could constitute contempt of court."

"defamation"

The publication of a false statement of fact that damages the reputation of an identifiable person or organisation

"The paper's lawyers reviewed every factual claim in the investigation to ensure no sentence could be construed as defamation."

"public interest"

A legal and ethical justification for publishing sensitive or private information because the benefit to society outweighs the harm to the individual

"The editor argued that the public interest in revealing the safety cover-up outweighed the company's privacy concerns."

"press self-regulation"

A system in which the news industry oversees its own conduct through a code of practice enforced by an independent body rather than the state

"The tabloid was censured by the press self-regulation body for publishing the address of a private individual."

"conflict of interest"

A situation in which a journalist's personal, financial, or political interests could compromise or appear to compromise editorial independence

"The reporter disclosed a conflict of interest and was removed from covering the story about the company in which his wife held shares."

"prior restraint"

A government or court order preventing a media organisation from publishing specific information before it is released

"The newspaper challenged the prior restraint in the Supreme Court, arguing the injunction violated press freedom guarantees."