journalese
Hackneyed newspaper prose
Journalese is the characteristic style of newspaper and broadcast writing—heavy on clichés, stock phrases, and dramatic shorthand.
Headlines spawn compounds like election-weary and scandal-plagued.
Stories feature fled the scene, remains to be seen, and only time will tell.
The term is mildly pejorative, implying formulaic writing that substitutes verbal habits for fresh observation.
Overused and unoriginal
- triteOverused, lacking freshness
- staleNo longer fresh
- banalUnoriginal and dull
- platitudesTrite moral remarks
formulaic · shopworn · threadbare · overused · tired · unoriginal · predictable · boilerplate
First-reported story
- exclusiveLimited to one group
- breakingComing apart suddenly
- bulletinBrief public announcement
- dispatchSend with speed
brief · filler · exposé · feature · profile · op-ed · editorial · obituary
One who gathers news
- correspondentJournalist covering distant events
- stringerFreelance reporter or beam
- columnistRecurring newspaper feature writer
- editorOne who revises text
copy-editor · sub-editor · hack · journo · newshound · muckraker · pundit · anchor
News story opening
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- hookCurved catching device
- kickerOne who boots balls
- pull-quoteEmphasized textual excerpt
sidebar · stet · thirty · jump · slug · copy · prose · punchy
hackneyed
Overused and unoriginal
platitudes · formulaic · shopworn · threadbare · overused · tired · unoriginal · predictable · boilerplate · buzzwords
scoop
First-reported story
dispatch · brief · filler · exposé · feature · profile · op-ed · editorial · obituary · roundup
reporter
One who gathers news
- correspondentJournalist covering distant events
- stringerFreelance reporter or beam
- columnistRecurring newspaper feature writer
editor · copy-editor · sub-editor · hack · journo · newshound · muckraker · pundit · anchor · newsreader
lede
News story opening
- attributionAssigning origin or cause
- hookCurved catching device
- kickerOne who boots balls
pull-quote · sidebar · stet · thirty · jump · slug · copy · prose · punchy · telegraphic
banner
Displayed strip with message
- splashLiquid scattering on impact
- screamerOne who shrieks loudly
- front-pageTop newspaper coverage
above-the-fold · subhead · deck · kicker · all-caps · blaring · punning · tabloid · clickbait · teaser
lead
Dense metal, symbol Pb
- bodyPhysical structure, living thing
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- cutlinePhoto's explanatory text
caption · pull-quote · sidebar · jump · masthead · folio · byline · dateline · tagline · boilerplate
- jargonjargon, lingo, legal jargon, slang, buzz words
- news writinginverted pyramid, lead paragraph, byline, dateline, news writing
- language varietiesdialect, idiolect, sociolect, vernacular, accent
- speech stylesinformal speech, formal speech, colloquial, vernacular, plain speech
journalesebelles-lettres
Literature valued aesthetically
fine writing · high style · literary style · poetic language · poetic prose
journaleseplain English
Unadorned, accessible wording
vernacular · plain speech · natural language · everyday speech · colloquial language
journal, journalist, journalism, journals, diurnal, journalists, journalistic, journalize