Bulldog, Beat, Cub Reporter, Kill: These are the slangs journalists use in newsrooms

Newsrooms can be heady. As a new entrant, I realised that like many workplaces, journos use some slangs or lingo that make you go- Come again??

If you are like me, you will end up googling the word or estimating the meaning of the slang thrown at you (fair warning: Not the best idea).?

Without further ado, let’s jump right in:

Cub reporter- A cub reporter is someone who is new to reporting. It means you have the potential to be Simba, you just have to grow and sharpen your paws first. Know the jungle a bit.?

Beat- A category that a specific journalist specialises in. When someone asks, what’s your beat, it can be business, entertainment, agriculture or Dead beat (for journos who write obituaries).?

Byline- The name of the reporter forms the byline of an article.?

Lede- It is the opening sentence of an article. This sums what happened and why the article is being written. A powerful ‘lede’ leads a reader into a story.

Inverted Pyramid- Oh man, have I got this wrong every time. It consists of three parts- ‘Lede’, Body (the crucial info) and Tail (interesting take, extra content).

Source- What is your source? i.e Where did you hear this from or get this information from??

Beat-up- This refers to exaggerated news, and is the junk food prepared by journalists. You know those guilty reads- The Queen never smiles- Here are five reasons why. Aniston is pregnant with twins.?

Bright- Bright is a short, quirky news story. This may just be two or three paragraphs long.?

Bulldog- It is the first edition of a paper.?

Cutline- The caption that comes under an image.?

Embargo- An agreement between a source and the reporter to withhold publishing information until a certain period of time.?

Evergreen- These are articles that a reader can come back to even after 50 years, standing the test of time.?

Fixer- A fixer is a local reporter who plans meetings, interviews for foreign correspondents in an unknown land.?

Kill or Spike- If an editor says they are ‘killing your story’, that means you have fudged up big time. Your story will not be published.?

Nutgraph- A nutgraph summarises the main points of the story in a paragraph.?

Presser- A press conference called by a leader or politician for journalists, where they attempt to answer questions they have not been asked.?

Rowback- A rowback is where a media house attempts to correct an error without directly taking full responsibility for the mistake.?

Stringer-?A stringer is a freelance journalist who works part-time for news organisations.?

Sound on Tape (S.O.T)- Any audio, either digital and analog comes under SOT.?

Tip- This is where all scandals are born. It starts with a tip or a secret information given to the journalist.?