After Deadline
Jargon is everywhere — even in newspapers

By John E. Simonds
Advertiser Reader Representative

Words generally help communication, but sometimes they add mystery, intrigue and confusion to the language.

A newspaper's job of clarifying often involves cracking the codes of special usage and converting the buzzwords, initials, acronyms and slash phrases of occupations and industries into words more readers can understand. Business, military, academia, sports, entertainment, technology and government all have their glossaries of special terms.

Long words can be baffling, which is why shorter ones usually are better. But barriers also arise when words get abbreviated. Who hasn't suffered an initial reaction in gatherings where others talk in capital letters as though using private alpha/codes? Or when words are cut in half and slash-linked to others, as in "limiting factors" becoming lim/facs, (slash optional) in the world of the urgent.

A while back, a concerned reader asked how a public school strike might affect students "PCS-ing" at the end of the school year. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) is a move well understood in military life. The question was valid, though the verbing of initials caught the listener off base. (The strike did not reach the point where it jeopardized course credits of transferring students.)

Common usage in one activity may puzzle those in other callings. Daily conversation bubbles over with untranslated initials — FBI, FYI, SUV, DUI, MRI, GOP, NFL, RPM, RBI, GNP, VCR, DNA, HIV, HMO, MTV, BMW, ATM, AARP, ESPN, NASDAQ — including some with more than one meaning — IRA, SAT, CD and PC. Hawai'i contributes its share — HMSA, HPD, OHA, OIA, WAC, ILH, IHS, HSTA, HGEA, UPW, OMPO, SHOPO, CINCPAC, DAGS and DOE, among many.

One reason readers don't encounter more of these upper-case initials in print is the diligence of Advertiser reporters, editors and copy editors. They keep the initials to a minimum and limit their use, when necessary, to later references after they've been spelled out the first time. Where possible, writers and editors use words rather than acronyms.

Readers call about acronyms they've seen or heard elsewhere. One recently asked the meaning of ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) that President Bush referred to, sounding much like a name from the Middle East, in proposing energy exploration in the far north.

Newspapers have their own inside terms that seem a bit plain next to the vocabularies of other fields, but they might confuse or amuse someone attending a news meeting for the first time. Examples:

• Ear: Short item or graphic image appearing in upper corners, usually on a cover page.
• Holder: An article concise enough to appear in its entirety on Page One or a section cover page.
• Splitter: A short self-contained article on Page One with a longer version appearing inside the newspaper, often in another section.
• Teaser: A short item, a headline, or photo with caption referring to or promoting a news article or feature on inside pages.
• Jump: What an article does when it continues, unfinished, from one page to another.
• Rail: A list or group of teasers, displayed down the left side of Page One under a heading "Inside."
• Sky box: A promotional blurb or teaser above the Page One masthead.
• Mainbar: The main story in a group of related articles.
• Sidebar: A separate but related story, usually shorter, with information complementing the mainbar.
• Bleed: A photo or graphic image that runs to the margin of a page or onto a facing page.
• Lead (pronounced "leed"): The first sentence and/or paragraph of an article. Or the main story on a page.
• Readout: A second, more explanatory head, beneath the main headline.
• Pull quote: A quotation lifted from an article and displayed in larger type for emphasis or graphic effect.
• Hammerhead: A headline placed vertically alongside an article, rather than above it.
• Centerpiece: A photo and story that go together in a prominent display on Page One or a cover page, often a focal point of the Sunday paper.
• Fold: The mid-page horizontal crease, used to define story and photo location. Placement "above the fold" enhances impact, especially on Page One.
• Off-lead: A Page One story above the fold but not as prominently displayed as the lead story, or the one with the biggest headline.
• Masthead: A two-meaning term: (1) a listing of executives, staff, operating and circulation data, or (2) the nameplate title at the top of Page One.
• Graf: Short for paragraph, not to be confused with graph, a chart showing comparisons.
• Nut graf: A paragraph in a story that sums up the background and importance of a story. Sometimes called a So-what? graf.
• Double truck: A large ad spread across two facing pages.
• Dummy: A scaled-down form for planning a page layout.

Reach John Simonds, The Advertiser's reader representative, at jsimonds@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8033.