Praxis Journalism flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Actual malice
- In libel law, knowledge that a statement was false or reckless disregard for whether it was false; required of public officials and public figures under New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.
- Libel elements
- A false statement of fact, published to a third party, causing harm, with fault at least negligence; public plaintiffs must also prove actual malice.
- Fair report privilege
- A defense protecting accurate, fair summaries of official government proceedings and documents, even if the underlying statements are defamatory.
- Prior restraint
- Government action preventing publication before it occurs; presumptively unconstitutional under Near v. Minnesota, with narrow exceptions such as obscenity or incitement.
- Branzburg v. Hayes
- 1972 Supreme Court ruling that reporters have no absolute First Amendment privilege against grand jury subpoenas; Justice Powell's concurrence allowed case-by-case balancing.
- Shield law
- A state statute protecting journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources or unpublished materials; scope and definitions of 'journalist' vary by state.
- FOIA
- The federal Freedom of Information Act requires agencies to release records on request, subject to nine exemptions; agencies generally respond within 20 working days.
- Open meetings law
- State statutes requiring public bodies to give notice of and allow public access to meetings, with narrow exceptions for personnel, litigation, and property matters.
- Fair use
- A copyright doctrine balancing purpose of use, nature of the work, amount used, and market effect; allows limited use of protected expression without permission.
- Invasion of privacy torts
- Four privacy claims: intrusion upon seclusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light, and appropriation of name or likeness; newsworthiness is a common defense.
- Inverted pyramid
- A news story structure placing the most important information first, followed by supporting details in descending order of importance, so editors can trim from the bottom.
- Nut graf
- A paragraph early in a feature that states the story's central point and explains why it matters now, bridging the anecdotal lead and the body.
- Summary lead
- A hard-news opening sentence answering the five W's and H - who, what, when, where, why, and how - usually in 25 to 35 words.
- On the record
- Interview terms under which a source's statements may be published with their name and title attached; the default assumption in most reporting.
- On background
- Interview terms allowing publication of information attributed only to a described role, such as 'a senior administration official,' without the source's name.
- Off the record
- Interview terms under which information may not be published at all; must be negotiated before the information is shared, not after.
- News values
- Criteria editors use to rank stories: impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, novelty, conflict, human interest, and usefulness to the audience.
- SPJ Code of Ethics
- Professional principles: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent, including prompt correction of errors.
- AP style numbers
- Spell out one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above; use numerals for ages, percentages, and measurements regardless of size.
- AP style dates
- Use month-day-year order with a comma after the day; abbreviate months with more than five letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).
- AP style titles
- Capitalize a formal title before a name (President Biden) but lowercase it after or standing alone (Biden, the president); occupational titles are usually lowercase.
- Attribution
- Identifying the source of information in a story; on-the-record attribution names the source, while background and off-the-record terms restrict how information may be used.
- Anonymous source
- A source whose identity is withheld from readers; requires editor approval, corroboration, and an explanation to the audience of why anonymity was granted.
- Corrections policy
- A newsroom's practice of promptly and visibly correcting factual errors, logging them, and never silently deleting or altering published content.
- Margin of error
- A range around a poll result within which the true value likely falls at a stated confidence level, typically plus or minus three points at 95% confidence.
- Correlation versus causation
- A statistical relationship between two variables does not prove one causes the other; confounders or reverse causation may explain the association.
- Misleading chart practices
- Truncated y-axes, inconsistent scales, cherry-picked time windows, and missing labels can distort data; bar charts should start at zero.
- Broadcast writing style
- Conversational, active-voice writing with short sentences, no symbols or abbreviations, and timing measured in words per second of airtime.
- Photojournalism ethics
- News images should not be staged or materially altered; captions must accurately state who, what, when, and where to preserve the photograph's truth claim.
- Work for hire
- A copyright arrangement in which the commissioning party owns the work outright, unlike a license where the creator retains ownership.
- Kill fee
- A contractual payment to a freelancer if the publisher cancels an assigned story after work has begun, usually a percentage of the agreed fee.
- Sponsored content labeling
- Advertising or paid material must be clearly distinguished from editorial content and labeled so audiences are not misled about its origin.