Newspaper Publishing Industry Terminology

A/B testing

A method of comparing two or more variants of a page element (such as a headline, image, subscription prompt, or layout) to determine which performs better on a chosen metric (clicks, conversions, time-on-page).

We A/B tested two headlines and saw a 12% lift in CTR; Run an A/B on the paywall copy before rollout; The homepage carousel is being A/B tested this week.

Above-the-fold

The portion of a newspaper’s front page or a web page that is visible without scrolling; considered the most valuable real estate for attention.

Put the wildfire update above the fold for maximum visibility; That ad unit is sold at a premium because it’s above the fold; On mobile, above the fold means visible without scrolling.

Advertorial

Paid content that resembles editorial articles but is created for or by an advertiser; must be clearly labeled to avoid misleading readers.

The airline bought a two-page advertorial in the travel section; Make sure the advertorial is clearly labeled; The client wants an advertorial that matches our Weekend insert’s tone.

Alliance for Audited Media (AAM)

Industry body that independently audits publishers’ circulation, distribution, and digital metrics (formerly Audit Bureau of Circulations, ABC).

Our AAM audit verified Sunday circulation; Share the AAM report with the agency; We’re scheduling the annual AAM field review next month.

ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)

A revenue metric calculated by dividing total subscriber revenue by the number of subscribers, used to gauge monetization efficiency.

Our digital ARPU rose after the price increase; Bundle pricing improved subscriber ARPU; Track ARPU by cohort to see onboarding impact.

Beat

A reporter’s assigned topic area or geographic territory to cover consistently (e.g., politics, sports, environment, courts).

She covers the education beat; We’re adding a climate resilience beat; His beat includes city hall and the police department.

Bounce rate

The percentage of sessions in which a reader views only one page before leaving; a signal of engagement and content relevance.

The obits page has a high bounce rate; Improve recirculation to lower bounce; Personalization reduced home-page bounce rate.

Broadsheet

A large-format newspaper, typically around 22–24 inches tall, associated with more traditional layouts and deep reporting.

We switched from broadsheet to compact; Design the graphic to fit a broadsheet six-column grid; The Sunday broadsheet features long-form investigations.

Byline

The credit line naming the author of a story (and sometimes the photographer or contributor).

Add a second byline for the photographer; The intern’s byline ran on A3; Freelancers negotiate higher rates for front-page bylines.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Total marketing and sales expense required to acquire a new subscriber or registered user, often compared to lifetime value (LTV).

Paid search lowered CAC for gift subs; Our CAC:LTV ratio is 1:4 after the redesign; Factor newsroom promos into CAC calculations.

CMS (Content Management System)

Software used to create, edit, manage, and publish content across platforms (e.g., Arc, WordPress VIP, CUE, Bloomreach, TownNews).

We’re migrating to Arc as our CMS; Build the election results page in the CMS; The CMS needs a correction workflow.

CMYK

A four-color printing model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) used for full-color newspaper printing.

Convert RGB images to CMYK before sending to plate; The cyan is too heavy—reduce total ink coverage; That photo will blacken in newsprint due to CMYK dot gain.

Column inch

A traditional unit of space in print measured by one column wide and one inch deep, used to size and price ads and content.

The client bought a 60 column-inch ad; Rate cards price by column inch; Trim the story by six column inches to fit the page.

Conversion rate

The percentage of users who complete a desired action (subscribe, register, donate) out of the total exposed to the offer.

The paywall test lifted conversion rate 15%; Newsletter CTAs convert at a higher rate than in-article modals; Optimize the offer to improve trial-to-paid conversion.

Corrections policy

A formal standard for acknowledging and fixing errors, typically including labeling, placement, timing, and transparency guidelines.

Post the correction on the story page and in print; Our corrections policy requires notifying social followers; The public editor reviewed our correction process.

CPM (Cost Per Thousand)

An advertising pricing metric indicating the cost per 1,000 ad impressions, used for display, video, and other digital ads.

The above-the-fold unit sells at a $14 CPM; Video CPMs beat display CPMs; Direct-sold CPMs are higher than programmatic open exchange.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

The percentage of impressions that result in a click, used to assess effectiveness of headlines, promos, and ad creatives.

The newsletter’s CTR improved with fewer links; Headline change boosted CTR on the homepage; Measure CTR on the related-stories module.

Dateline

A line at the start of a story indicating the city (and sometimes date) from which it was reported.

Add a JERUSALEM dateline to the dispatch; Localize the story—no dateline if we didn’t report there; AP Style governs dateline formats.

Deadline

The time by which content must be filed, edited, laid out, and sent to press or published; varies by section and edition.

The A1 deadline is 10:30 p.m.; File photos by the sports desk’s early deadline; Digital deadlines are rolling for breaking news.

DPI (Dots Per Inch)

A measure of image resolution for print; higher DPI generally yields sharper reproduction on newsprint.

Use 200–240 DPI images for newsprint; The wire photo is too low DPI for a six-column spread; Scan the archive image at higher DPI.

Edition

A specific version of the newspaper tailored by time or geography (early/late editions, zoned editions, e-editions).

We have metro and state-zone editions; Hold the story for the late city edition; The e-edition updates after the final press run.

Embargo

A request or rule that information not be published until a specified date/time; common with studies or government data releases.

The report is under embargo until 12:01 a.m.; Respect the embargo or risk losing access; Coordinate the push alert for embargo lift.

FSI (Free-Standing Insert)

A preprinted advertising insert distributed within the newspaper, often for coupons and retail circulars.

The grocery FSI goes in Sunday’s paper; We printed 200k FSIs for the promotion; Bundle FSIs with zoned distribution for targeting.

GDPR

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation governing personal data use, consent, and user rights; impacts analytics, ads, and subscriptions.

Update the consent banner to meet GDPR; GDPR affects our email onboarding flows; Limit ad targeting in the EU per GDPR.

Header bidding

A programmatic advertising technique where multiple ad exchanges bid simultaneously before the ad server call, increasing competition and yield.

Implement header bidding to raise CPMs; The wrapper timed out, hurting fill rate; Add more demand partners in header bidding.

Imposition

The arrangement of pages on a printer’s sheet so they appear in the correct order after folding and trimming.

Check imposition before plate making; The 16-page broadsheet imposition changed; Wrong imposition caused page order errors.

Jump line

A line at the end of a story segment directing readers to the page where the story continues (e.g., Continued on A6).

Add a jump line: Continued on A6; The jump line references the correct deck; Readers missed the jump because the line was buried.

Kicker

A short line of text above a headline that provides context or emphasis.

Use a kicker above the main head; The kicker clarifies the topic; Design calls for a bold kicker over two lines.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Quantifiable metrics used to evaluate success against objectives (e.g., subscriber starts, retention, engaged minutes, ad yield).

Our KPIs are subs started, active days, and engaged minutes; Set KPI targets by section; CTR isn’t the only KPI for quality journalism.

Lede

The opening paragraph of a news story, crafted to convey the most important information and draw readers in.

Tighten the lede to 30 words; The lede buries the news—move it up; Workshop stronger ledes in the feature desk.

Libel

Publication of a false statement presented as fact that harms a person’s reputation; subject to legal action; requires careful verification and fair reporting.

Legal is reviewing for libel risk; Verify allegations to avoid libel; The correction reduced but didn’t eliminate libel exposure.

LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)

Projected net revenue a subscriber generates over their relationship with the publication; used to guide acquisition and pricing decisions.

High LTV justifies the acquisition spend; Improve onboarding to boost LTV; We model LTV by channel and offer type.

Masthead

Either the box listing a publication’s owners and key staff (inside) or colloquially the nameplate/logo on the front page; usage varies by newsroom.

Update the masthead to reflect new leadership; The masthead box runs on A2; The nameplate on A1 is sometimes called the masthead.

Metered paywall

A paywall model allowing users a limited number of free articles before requiring a subscription.

Raise the meter from 3 to 5 free articles; Metered paywall outperforms hard lock for top-of-funnel; Exempt public-safety stories from the meter.

Native advertising

Advertising designed to match the form and function of editorial content while being clearly disclosed as paid.

Produce a native ad series on local dining; Label native units as Sponsored; Native CTR outperforms standard display.

News hole

The space in a print edition available for editorial content after advertising space is allocated.

Ads expanded—our news hole shrank; Budget the news hole by section; A late FSI reduced Sunday’s news hole.

Newsprint

The low-cost, lightweight paper stock most newspapers are printed on; affects image reproduction and ink behavior.

Newsprint prices increased 8%; Adjust images for newsprint dot gain; Supply-chain issues limited our newsprint inventory.

Nut graf

The paragraph that succinctly explains the story’s core point and why it matters, typically after the lede.

The nut graf should follow the anecdotal lede; Strengthen the nut graf to explain why it matters; Editors flagged a missing nut graf.

Offset printing

A printing technique where inked images are transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to paper; standard for newspapers.

We run color on an offset web press; Plate misregister affected offset printing quality; Offset reduces wear on the plate surface.

Ombudsman/Public Editor

An independent role within or aligned to a newsroom that reviews coverage, handles reader concerns, and promotes accountability.

The public editor reviewed our sourcing; The ombudsman fielded reader complaints; Publish the ombudsman’s annual report.

Op-ed

A contributed opinion piece typically published opposite the editorial page; written by external experts or notable voices.

Solicit an op-ed from local faculty; The op-ed runs opposite the editorial; Op-ed submissions must disclose conflicts.

Pagination

The process of laying out and assembling pages for print or e-editions using design and production tools.

Finish pagination by 10 p.m.; Pagination is in InDesign with a CCI workflow; Late stories will blow up pagination.

Paywall (Hard Paywall)

A strict access control that requires a subscription to view content, as opposed to meters or freemium models.

A hard paywall protects premium enterprise; We hardwalled the investigations vertical; Consider a softer paywall during emergencies.

Plate (Printing Plate)

A metal sheet carrying page images used on offset presses; created from finalized page files in prepress.

Plates are burned after final proofs; Replace the plate to fix the typo; Plate costs factor into zoned editions.

Press run

The total number of copies printed for an edition; influenced by demand forecasts, returns, and zoned distribution.

Sunday press run is 210,000; Increase the press run for the parade insert; The press run started late due to maintenance.

Programmatic advertising

Automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory via exchanges and platforms, including open exchange, private marketplaces (PMP), and direct deals.

Shift remnant inventory to programmatic; PMP deals outperform open exchange; Optimize floor prices in the ad server for programmatic.

Regwall (Registration Wall)

A gate that requires users to create a free account to access content, often used before or instead of a paywall.

Add a regwall before the meter; Regwall completion rate rose after simplifying the form; The regwall fuels newsletter growth.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

A standardized web feed format used to distribute and syndicate content automatically to readers, apps, and partners.

Fix the RSS feed for Politics; Our app ingests content via RSS; Power users still subscribe to RSS feeds.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Practices to improve visibility in search engines through keyword targeting, technical fixes, structured data, and high-quality content.

Rewrite the hed for SEO; Add schema and alt text to boost SEO; SEO drove 35% of sessions to the wildfire explainer.

Tabloid

A smaller newspaper format, roughly half the size of a broadsheet; sometimes also refers to sensationalist editorial style.

The commuter edition is tabloid size; Tabloid format fits our presses and racks; Avoid tabloid-style sensational heds.