Journalism
the work of gathering news
The 5 W's
Who is driving the story? Who is it about? Who is affected? Who benefits? Who loses?
What has happened? What are the consequences? What does this mean for the reader?
Where is this taking place (building, neighborhood, city, country)? Where should readers go to learn more?
When did it happen (time of day, day, month, year)? When was the last update? When can you expect to learn more? When will the effects be felt?
Why did this event take place? Why is this important in the big picture? Why should readers care?
Lead
The opening paragraph of an article that gives the audience the most important information of the news story in a concise and clear manner, while still maintaining the readers' interest. Should contain the 5 W's.
Inverted Pyramid Structure (IPS)
the common method of organizing a news story so that the most important information is presented first followed by information of decreasing importance.
Masthead
the identification statement placed on the editorial page that identifies the important personnel associated with the publication
Byline
the name of the reporter who wrote the story, placed atop the published article.
Caption or Cutline
any descriptive or explanatory material under a picture.
Jump
to continue a story on another page
Libel
publish information that misrepresents facts and falsely exposes an individual to ridicule.
Editor
a person who prepares material for publication