Voice

The voice of a piece has to do with style and tone. Here's Don Murray defining it, "The quality of writing, sometimes called. style or tone, that gives the reader the illusion of an individual person speaking to an individual reader."

VDT

VDT is the Visual Display Terminal, one of the terms used to describe the word processors on which reporters write their stories and have them edited, according to Don Murray.

No one uses such a terminal. Reporters use a desktop, laptop, or a tablet to write stories.

2-3-1 principle

2-3-1 principle is a method of organizing a news story. Here is how it is defined by Don Murray:

"A way of describing the points of emphasis in a unit of writing. The most important point is at the end, the next important point at the beginning, and the least in the middle."

Traditional journalism

Traditional journalism or colloquially known as old school journalism. It is defined as follows by Don Murray:

"Journalism in which the reporter emphasizes fact, makes no comment upon it, does not intrude on the story, and maintains a position as an objective, impartial deliverer of attributed information."

Takeout

"A story that attempts to put an entire issue in context," defines Don Murray.

Sidebar

Don Murray defines it as: "A subsidiary story that runs beside a main story."

Roundup

No. We're not talking about the weed control chemical. Rather, a roundup is defined as a story that summarizes everything that has been written on a particular event that up to today, mainly for complex, drip stories.

Point of view

There are two definition for point of view:
* The opinion of the writer, in other words, his point of view.
* And the point of view or the prism through which a story is framed for readers. For example, a story can be told from the point of view of a child.

Nut graph

The nut graph is defined as the paragraph that immediately follows the lead and puts the whole story in context, according to Don Murray.

News hole

The space for news after advertising columns have been inserted. Not relevant in the digital age.

Don Murray defines:

"The amount of space left after the advertising columns have been allocated."

New journalism

A style of news writing that is laced with personal experience of the reporter and his opinion. Not objective reporting.

Don Murray defines:

"A term used to describe the journalism of the late sixties and seventies, in which the reporter/writer abandoned the position of objective observer and participated in the story and commented upon the story with personal opinion."

Natural order

The most optimal way to lay out a story.

Here's Don Murray defining it:

“A story that uses a sequence that seems normal to organize the information for the reader. Chronology is used in a narrative; sometimes a place is described by taking a walk through it. Often a legislative act is shown by allowing the reader to experience the process of getting a bill passed or blocked.”

Mapping

Mapping is a technique that let's a reporter develop related stories.

"A brainstorming technique in which the writer puts a topic in the center of the page and then, as rapidly as possible, draws branches out to any topics that seem related." - Don Murray

The Line

Here's the definition from Don Murray:

"A fragment of language that contains the central tension that will move a story forward."

Lead or Lede

The first paragraph in a news story that captures the reader's attention forcing him to read the rest of the piece.

Layering

Here's the definition from Don Murray:

"The process of writing a story over and over again to develop it adequately."

Kicker

The kicker in journalism is like the punch line in a joke -- a strong, memorable ending to a story.

Don Murray defines it as:

"A strong ending on a news story, column, or editorial; information that will make an impact on the reader and remain with the reader after the story is finished."

Inverted pyramid

The traditional news story format that has a packed lede that provides the most essential information about a story to the readers.

Here's the definition from Don Murray.

"Traditional news stories that tell the reader the most important news first, the next important news next, and so on. If space is needed, these stories can be cut from the bottom right up to the lead paragraph, which is packed with the most important information."

Hard news

Serious news that is of widespread importance and readers need to know immediately is called hard news.

Attribution

How do readers know where a piece of information came from? Attribution.

Cover shot of writing book by Donald Murray.

Here's a neat definition from "Writing for Your Readers: Notes on the Writer's Craft from the Boston Globe " by Donald Murray, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing in 1954: