Types of News, Newspapers, Magazines and Media Vocabulary

1. The daily: a newspaper published every day except Sunday

2. A tabloid: a newspaper with fairly small pages mostly containing stories about
famous people and not much serious news
3. Biweekly: a magazine that is published twice a month or twice a week
4. Bulletin: a magazine or newspaper produced regularly by a club or organization
to give information to its members
5. Fanzine a magazine written for and by fans

Content-related words
1. headlines = heading or title appearing at the top of a page or article
2. columns = news that is printed in vertical columns rather than taking a whole
page
3. obituaries = a section in the newspaper about people who have recently died
4. horoscope = a section in the newspaper about star signs and zodiac signs which
foretell the future
5. weather report = a section in the newspaper for weather forecasts
6. business section = a section in the newspaper with business news
7. international / world news section = a section in the newspaper which focuses
on news from abroad
8. caption = an explanation or title matching a picture or cartoon
9. special feature = a special story
10. editorial = a news article containing the editor’s opinions
11. comic strip = a cartoon series in the newspaper

Other useful vocabulary for newspapers and media

A. circulation = the number of copies a newspaper distributes on an average day
(some newspapers have a wider circulation than others)
B. layout = the way articles are designed on a page (this can include the position of
pictures, the number of columns and the size of headlines)
C. attention-grabbing = a news story which draws public attention
D. eye-catching = a picture or layout which catches a person’s eye
E. in-depth = with many details
F. sensational news = news which causes public excitement or interest
G. paparazzi = a freelance photographer who follows celebrities
H. fact-checkers = a person (people) who checks if the newspaper facts and
information in an article are correct
I. hot off the press = news that has just been printed and is very recent
J. readership = the collective readers of a newspaper (some newspapers have a
 large readership)
K. issue (n) = 1. an important topic for a debate 2. a copy of a newspaper
L. hype (v)(n) =a situation in which something is advertised and discussed in
newspapers, on television, etc. a lot in order to attract everyone's interest
M. the press= newspapers and magazines, and those parts of television and radio
that broadcast news, or reporters and photographers who work for them
N. press conference (n)= a public meeting with reporters and photographers
O. press release (n)= a public statement issued after a press conference
P. cover (v)= to report on an event through news or magazines
Q. coverage (n) the amount of attention that television, radio, and newspapers
give to something, or the way in which something is reported
R. overexposure (n)= a situation in which someone or something appears so much
in newspapers, on television, on the radio etc that people lose interest
S. information overload (n)= too much exposure to data
T. fanfare (n) information in newspapers and on television and radio intended to
make people interested in someone or something
U. sparkle (v)= to arouse (interest or criticism in the public)
V. go viral= a phrase used to describe something that quickly becomes very
popular or well known by being published on the internet or sent from person to
person by email, phone, etc.:
W. make the headlines
X. objective reporting

Types of News
⚫ local/domestic news
⚫ international news/ world events
⚫ current affairs
⚫ business news
⚫ gossip
⚫ sensational news
⚫ media hype
⚫ scandal
⚫ breaking news
LET’S PUT IT TO THE TEST
Fill in the following sentences with the word(s) from the above lists.
Words can be adapted to make the sentences grammatically correct.

1. I can’t understand why people buy ……………….. because they don’t contain real
news, just gossip.
2. Famous people deserve the right to privacy and the government should do
more to control and limit ……………
3. There are so many mistakes in that article with information that they’ve got
wrong. They really should employ a …………….
4. I’m not keen on the …………… of some newspapers. It seems to me as though
they are trying to fill the pages with pictures and big words to get people’s
attention but I just think it’s messy.
5. Did you read about that amazing hero in WWII that recently died? There
was a wonderful article about her life in the …………….. today.
6. The reason that many people only glance through the papers to read
the ……………….. is that they are so busy and don’t have time to read the
details in the articles themselves.
7. Although we live in a global world, where international news is important to
follow, it is still vital that people read their ……………… newspapers in order to
learn about the community in which they live.
8. I quite like reading …………… because it’s interesting to read the views of the
editor on particular issues.