Technical terms

By-line: The name of the reporter, often included at the beginning of the story. 

Caption: Text underneath photographs briefly explaining the image.

Box-out: A small part of the page shaded in a different colour. 

Crosshead: a subheading which appears in the body of the text, centred above the column of text. If it's placed at the side, it is referred to as a sidehead.

Headline: The main story, usually written in very large, bold font, describing the main story. 

Kicker: A story which uses a different font and layout to stand out from the rest of the page.

Masthead: The logo which identifies the newspaper at the top of the page (usually top left). They sometimes feature an emblem within. Often boxed with a border, or set into a block of black or red print. The 'Red-tops' such as The Sun and The Mirror are categorised by the red background in the masthead.

Credits: The author of an article may be given credit in the form of a beeline. Similarly photographs may have the name of the person or agency who took them alongside. 

Menu: The list of contents inside the paper.

Exclusive: That newspaper solely is covering the story. They are likely to pay the interviewees in order to buy the story so that it cannot be used in another paper. 

Pugs: Found at the top left and right hand corners of the paper and are known as the 'ears' of the page. Positioned there are the logo, promotions and the price. They are placed there deliberately to catch the readers eye.

Lure: A word or phrase directing the reader to look inside the paper at a certain story or feature.

Secondary Lead: Usually only a picture and a headline, providing a sneak preview of a story within the paper.

Splash: The main story on the front cover, accompanied by the largest headline and a photograph.

Sidebar: an additional box or tinted panel along side a main feature.

Spread: a story that covers more than one page.

Strapline: The introductory line below the headline.

Tag: a word or phrase used to engage the readers interest into a story by categorising it, for example 'sensational'.

Standfirst: An introductory paragraph before the start of the feature, sometimes in bold.