Run
The news of the day. Factual coverage of serious, timely events (crime, war, business, politics, etc.)
Hard News
When an anchor or reporter turns over a portion of the show to another anchor or reporter
Toss
Unedited video, just as it was shot.
Raw Video
A name for a photographer or cameraperson.
Videographer
Any distortion or technical distraction in video or audio.
Glitch
The written phrase that identifies the source of a fact, opinion, or quote in a story.
Attribution
The week in which a station's viewership is monitored and rated.
Sweeps Week
A light story that ends a newscast.
Kicker
The bottom third of the frame containing text information regarding the current story, the anchors' or interviewee's identification, and other relevant captions.
Lower Third
Any piece of audio which is intended for use within the final mix, i.e. jingles, music, sound effects, and other station-specific audio.
Production Element
An edit in a news package that interrupts continuity. Example: an interviewee speaking followed immediately by another shot of the same interviewee speaking at a different time, so the image "jumps." Avoided by using cutaways or b-roll
Jump Cut
Any type of video which rolls before the camera cuts to the anchors, usually featuring a voice over and ending on a form of cliffhanger. Commonly known as the intro to SNL.
Cold Open
A short (2-10 second) indent used as filler leading into and out of commercial breaks. Often shortened to "bump," but not to be confused with the verb of the same name (to bump a story is to place it higher or lower on the scale of priority.)
Breakbumper
The name given to a story for newsroom use.
Slug
A brief piece of music, typically less than fifteen seconds, used to punctuate the end of a segment or story. The sting is often the station's own jingle.
Sting
"Voiceover" followed by "sound on tape." A news script, usually read live, that includes video, track, and at least one sound bite.
VOSOT
Commonly adhered to as the industry standard on formatting and word usage in news writing.
AP Stylebook
B-roll shot from the perspective of the subject, illustrating what the subject sees or saw at a given moment.
POV Shot
Reporting which takes place outside of what is usually considered mainstream media, predominantly carried out by members of the public without formal training. Can include the work of bloggers and social media platforms.
Citizen Journalism
The practice of annotating a news script to denote which words should be spoken with emphasis.
Woodshedding
The practice of rehearsing the final segment of a news broadcast and timing it; during the live broadcast, the director may then speed up or slow down this segment to coincide with the scheduled finishing time of the program.
Back Timing
The final three or four words of a news package, included in scripts to signal to the anchor and control room staff when the package is about to end so they can cue the next element in the program.
Outcue
The earpiece through which a director or producer instructs a correspondent in the field or anchor in the studio. The producer interrupts whatever feedback the reporter is getting in the earpiece.
Interrupt Feedback
A type of pre-produced package that has no reporter track; the only audio is the natural sound of the video being shown. It may also use interview sound bites. Often used to convey the mood or atmosphere at a scene or an event.
NAT Package
The reporter appearing on camera in the middle of the story. Used for transition between voiceovers or soundbites, or when there is no video to talk over.