| A | B |
|---|
| Attack journalism | sizes on information to questino the character of a public official |
| Canned news | press releases or other news items prepared for reporters |
| Equal time rule | Obligation on broadcasters to give all candidates equal access to the media |
| Fairness doctrine | Principle that formerly obligated broadcasters to present both sides of an issue |
| FCC | government agency that regulates the electronic media |
| Feature stories | Public events not regularly covered by reporters |
| Freedom of INofrmation Act | Law guaranteeing citizens access to certain government documents |
| Insider stories | Events that become public only if revealed to reporters |
| Loaded language | Words that reflect a value judgment, used to persuade the listener without making an argument |
| Market | An area easily reached by one TV signal |
| Muckrakers | Investigative reporters such as Upton Sinclair and Lincoln Steffens |
| Offical Secrets Act | British law to punish officials who divulge private government business |
| Off the record | Information from an official that cannot be printed |
| On background | Information from an official that can be printed but not attributed to the official by name |
| On deep background | Information from an official that can be printed but not attributed at all |
| On the record | Information from a government official who can be quoted by name |
| Reckless disregard | A court standard for finding themedia guilty of libeling officials |
| Right-of-reply rule | FCC rule permitting a person the right to respond if attacked on a broadcast other than regular news program |
| Routine stories | Public events regularly covered by reporters |
| Sound bite | Brief statement no longer than a few seconds used on a broadcast |
| Telecommunications Act of 1996 | Allows 1 company to own up to 8 radio stations in large markets and unlimited stations nationally |
| Trial balloon | Information provided to the media by an anonymous source as a way of testing the reaction to a potential policy or appointment |
| Visuals | Filmed stories for evening TV news |
| Yellow journalism | Sensationalized news reporting |
