WBCHSE Journalism key terms

The process of producing and distributing messages to large, scattered, anonymous audiences through media such as newspapers, radio, television, and the internet, usually by organised institutions rather than individuals speaking face to face.

A simplified diagram or description of how a message travels from a sender through a channel to a receiver, often including encoding, decoding, feedback, and noise, used to explain and compare different views of the communication process.

The response a receiver sends back to a source about a message, such as a letter to the editor, a phone-in comment, or a click, which tells communicators whether the message was received and how it was understood.

The process by which editors, producers, and platform algorithms decide which events and facts reach the public and which are filtered out, shaping what audiences come to regard as important or newsworthy.

The idea that media coverage influences which issues audiences think about and rank as important, even if it does not directly tell them what opinion to hold on those issues.

A sensational style of reporting that uses exaggerated headlines, scandal, crime, and emotional appeals to attract readers, prioritising circulation over accuracy and often blurring the line between news and entertainment.

The weekly newspaper started in Calcutta in 1780 by James Augustus Hicky, generally treated as the first newspaper printed in India and remembered for its criticism of the colonial administration.

An 1878 colonial law that allowed the government to restrict and seize newspapers published in Indian languages, requiring them to avoid material likely to stir disaffection, while English-language papers were treated more leniently.

A Bengali newspaper founded in 1868 that later shifted to English and became known for nationalist reporting and criticism of colonial policies, making it an important voice in Bengal's political journalism.

The criteria journalists use to judge whether an event deserves coverage, including impact, proximity, timeliness, prominence, novelty, conflict, and human interest, which together explain why some stories lead bulletins and others are ignored.

The opening paragraph or first few sentences of a news story, which carries the most important facts and answers the main questions a reader would ask before deciding whether to continue reading.

A story structure that places the most essential information at the top and arranges remaining details in descending order of importance, so that readers get the core facts first and editors can trim from the bottom.

The set of questions, namely who, what, when, where, why, and how, that a reporter answers to make a news report complete and that a reader expects to see addressed early in the story.

The practice of naming the source of information in a report, such as a named official or a document, so readers can judge the reliability of the claim and the reporter's account can be verified.

An agreement between a journalist and a source that the information supplied will not be published or used in the report, though the reporter may use it privately to guide further enquiries.

The routine of checking facts, names, numbers, dates, and quotations against reliable sources before publication, which separates journalism from rumour and protects both the audience and the outlet's credibility.

A later report that returns to an earlier story to record new developments, official responses, or consequences, keeping the audience updated as an event unfolds over days or weeks.

The short, prominent line of text above a news story that summarises its content and attracts readers, usually written to fit a fixed space and often in a larger or bolder typeface.

The journalist who edits copy for accuracy, grammar, length, and legal risk, writes headlines and captions, and designs page layout before the story is sent for printing.

The stage of preparing a reporter's draft for publication by correcting errors, tightening sentences, checking facts, removing repetition, and ensuring the piece follows the outlet's house style.

The set of house rules a publication follows for spelling, capitalisation, abbreviations, titles, and punctuation, applied consistently so that all stories in the paper look and read alike.

A published statement that fixes an error in an earlier report, usually naming what was wrong and giving the accurate information, and treated as an ethical duty rather than an embarrassment.

The short text placed beside or beneath a photograph that identifies the people or place shown, explains what is happening, and links the image to the accompanying report.

A brief, striking excerpt of a recorded speech or interview used in a broadcast report, chosen for clarity and impact and usually kept to a few seconds within a longer news item.

Narration recorded by a reporter and played over pictures or video in a broadcast story, used to explain what the audience is seeing and to connect the visuals into a coherent account.

The presenter who introduces news items, links reports from correspondents, conducts studio interviews, and guides the audience through a bulletin, whether on television or radio.

The gap between people who have reliable access to the internet, devices, and digital skills and those who do not, which affects who can receive online news and participate in digital public debate.

A headline or thumbnail written to provoke curiosity and generate clicks rather than to inform, often exaggerating or withholding the actual content of the linked story and weakening trust in online news.

News gathering and reporting by members of the public who are not professional journalists, often using mobile phones to record events and share them on social platforms before mainstream outlets arrive.

The specific group of people an advertisement or media product is designed to reach, defined by characteristics such as age, income, location, or interests, which guides choices of message, medium, and timing.

The number of different people or households exposed to an advertisement or programme at least once during a given period, distinct from the total number of exposures or impressions delivered.

The planned and sustained effort to build and maintain goodwill between an organisation and its publics through communication, including press releases, events, and crisis responses, without paying for editorial space.

A short written statement issued to newsrooms by an organisation to announce something it considers newsworthy, written in news style with a dateline, quotation, and contact details for follow-up.

The publication of a false statement that harms a person's reputation, actionable in civil law and, in some circumstances, as a criminal offence, with truth and fair comment often available as defences.

An offence of disobeying or disrespecting a court, including publishing material that could prejudice a pending trial or scandalise the judiciary, which restricts what media can report about active cases.

The principle that journalists should be able to gather and publish information without unjustified government interference, balanced in law against individual rights, national security, and the fairness of trials.

A statutory body that promotes and protects press freedom, sets standards of journalistic conduct, and hears complaints against newspapers and news agencies, with powers to warn, censure, and recommend action.

The practice of publishing material that looks like news but is paid for by a political or commercial interest, deceiving readers about its origin and widely treated as a serious breach of journalistic ethics.

The opportunity for a person criticised in a publication or broadcast to present their side in the same medium, regarded as a matter of fairness and sometimes provided for by law or by editorial policy.

A covert reporting technique in which journalists pose as ordinary people to record evidence of wrongdoing, raising ethical and legal questions about deception, privacy, and entrapment that must be justified by public interest.