Newspapers: Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions of a Newspaper:

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Main heading (MH) - Title of the newspaper displayed on the front page

Bar Code (BC) - Used to scan the newspaper when purchasing. It is an optical, machine-readable representation of data and contains information such as price

Caption (C) – Brief text underneath an image describing the photography or graphic

Headline (H) – A phrase that summaries the main point of the article. Usually in large print and a different style to catch the attention of a reader

Main Image (MI) – Dominant picture, often filling much of the front cover

Page Number (PN) – A system of organisation within the magazine. Helps you find what you want to read

Target Audience (TA) – People who the newspaper aims to sell to

Pull Quote (PQ) – Something taken from within an article, usually said by the person in the main image

Classified Ad (CA) – An advertisement that uses only text, as opposed to a display ad, which also incorporates graphics

Skyline (S) – An information panel on the front page that tells the reader about the stores in the paper to tempt them inside

Edition (E) – Some newspapers print several of every night, these are versions with some changed and maybe additional late stories

Stand First (SF) – Block text that introduces the story, normally in a different style to the body text and headline

Byline (B) The line above the story, which gives the author’s name and sometimes their job and location

Body Text (BT) – Also known as copy Written material that makes up the main article

Standalone (SA) – Picture story that can exists on its own or on a front page leading to a story inside

Centre Spread (CS) – A photograph, often in full colour, that runs across the middle two pages

Lead Story (LS) – Main story, usually a splash

Gutter (G) – The blank space between margins of facing pages of a publication or the blank space between columns of text

Folio (F) – Top label for the whole page. Can relate to the area covered in the paper for example, National or big news topic such as Social Media, Syria

Page Furniture (PF) – Everything on a page except pictures or text stories