FBLA JOURNALISM STUDY GUIDE 2026 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔Press - ✔✔The machine that prints the newspaper. Also a synonym for journalism, as
in the phrase "freedom of the press". Sometimes used to denote print journalism, as
distinguished from broadcast journalism.
✔✔Privilege - ✔✔A defense against libel that claims the right to repeat what
government officials say or do in their official capacities
✔✔Profile - ✔✔A story intended to reveal the personality or character of an institution or
person.
✔✔Public figure - ✔✔A person who has assumed a role of prominence in the affairs of
society and who has persuasive power and influence in a community or who has thrust
himself or herself to the forefront of a public controversy. Courts have given journalists
more latitude in reporting on public figures than on private citizens.
✔✔Public journalism - ✔✔The new (or rediscovered) approach to journalism that
emphasizes connections with community rather than separation from it. Among the
newspapers best known for practicing public journalism are the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle
and The Charlotte(N.C.) observer.
✔✔Publisher - ✔✔The top-ranking executive of a newspaper. This title often is assumed
by the owner, although chains sometimes designate the top local executive as publisher
✔✔Pulitzer Prize - ✔✔The most prestigious of journalism awards. It was established by
Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University
✔✔Qualified privilege - ✔✔The right to report what government officials say or do in
their official capacities if the report is full, fair and accurate. Also called conditional
privilege.
✔✔Quote - ✔✔N. A source's exact words, as in "I have a great quote here."
✔✔Quote - ✔✔V. To report a source's exact words inside quotation marks.
✔✔Relevance - ✔✔The impact of a story as measured by the number of readers it
affects and how seriously it affects them.
✔✔Reporter - ✔✔A person whose job is to gather and write the news for a publication
or a broadcast outlet.
, ✔✔Shield law - ✔✔Legislation giving journalists the right to protect the identity of
sources
✔✔Sidebar - ✔✔A secondary story that is run alongside a major story on the same
topic. A story about a disaster, for example, may have a sidebar that tells what
happened to a single victim.
✔✔Situation ethics - ✔✔The philosophy that recognizes that a set of rules can be
broken if circumstances indicate that the community would be served better by breaking
them. For example, a journalist who generally believes that deceiving a news source is
unethical may be willing to conceal his or her identity to infiltrate a group operating
illegally.
✔✔Slug - ✔✔A word that identifies a story as it is processed through the newspaper
plant or on broadcast news. A slug is usually placed in the upper left-hand corner of
each take of a newspaper story. See also take.
✔✔Social networking - ✔✔The practice of connecting with others for business or social
purposes. Social networking sites make it easy for individuals to connect with toreros
who have similar interest or goals.
✔✔Soft lead - ✔✔A lead that uses a quote, anecdote or other literary device to attract
the reader. See also hard lead.
✔✔Soft news - ✔✔Stories about trends, personalities or lifestyles. The time element
usually is not important. See also hard news.
✔✔Source - ✔✔A person or record form which a reporter gets information. The term is
used more often to describe people than documents.
✔✔Spot news - ✔✔A timely report of an event that is unfolding at the moment
✔✔Story - ✔✔A newspaper article. Most journalists use the term story. Another
synonym is piece, as in "I saw your piece on the mayor". A long story may be called a
take-out or a blockbuster.
✔✔Stylebook - ✔✔A book of rules on grammar, punctuation, capitalization and
abbreviation in newspaper text. The AP and UPI publish similar style books that are
used by most papers.
✔✔Summary lead - ✔✔The first paragraph of a news story in which the writer presents
a synopsis of two or more actions rather than focusing on any one of them.
AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔Press - ✔✔The machine that prints the newspaper. Also a synonym for journalism, as
in the phrase "freedom of the press". Sometimes used to denote print journalism, as
distinguished from broadcast journalism.
✔✔Privilege - ✔✔A defense against libel that claims the right to repeat what
government officials say or do in their official capacities
✔✔Profile - ✔✔A story intended to reveal the personality or character of an institution or
person.
✔✔Public figure - ✔✔A person who has assumed a role of prominence in the affairs of
society and who has persuasive power and influence in a community or who has thrust
himself or herself to the forefront of a public controversy. Courts have given journalists
more latitude in reporting on public figures than on private citizens.
✔✔Public journalism - ✔✔The new (or rediscovered) approach to journalism that
emphasizes connections with community rather than separation from it. Among the
newspapers best known for practicing public journalism are the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle
and The Charlotte(N.C.) observer.
✔✔Publisher - ✔✔The top-ranking executive of a newspaper. This title often is assumed
by the owner, although chains sometimes designate the top local executive as publisher
✔✔Pulitzer Prize - ✔✔The most prestigious of journalism awards. It was established by
Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University
✔✔Qualified privilege - ✔✔The right to report what government officials say or do in
their official capacities if the report is full, fair and accurate. Also called conditional
privilege.
✔✔Quote - ✔✔N. A source's exact words, as in "I have a great quote here."
✔✔Quote - ✔✔V. To report a source's exact words inside quotation marks.
✔✔Relevance - ✔✔The impact of a story as measured by the number of readers it
affects and how seriously it affects them.
✔✔Reporter - ✔✔A person whose job is to gather and write the news for a publication
or a broadcast outlet.
, ✔✔Shield law - ✔✔Legislation giving journalists the right to protect the identity of
sources
✔✔Sidebar - ✔✔A secondary story that is run alongside a major story on the same
topic. A story about a disaster, for example, may have a sidebar that tells what
happened to a single victim.
✔✔Situation ethics - ✔✔The philosophy that recognizes that a set of rules can be
broken if circumstances indicate that the community would be served better by breaking
them. For example, a journalist who generally believes that deceiving a news source is
unethical may be willing to conceal his or her identity to infiltrate a group operating
illegally.
✔✔Slug - ✔✔A word that identifies a story as it is processed through the newspaper
plant or on broadcast news. A slug is usually placed in the upper left-hand corner of
each take of a newspaper story. See also take.
✔✔Social networking - ✔✔The practice of connecting with others for business or social
purposes. Social networking sites make it easy for individuals to connect with toreros
who have similar interest or goals.
✔✔Soft lead - ✔✔A lead that uses a quote, anecdote or other literary device to attract
the reader. See also hard lead.
✔✔Soft news - ✔✔Stories about trends, personalities or lifestyles. The time element
usually is not important. See also hard news.
✔✔Source - ✔✔A person or record form which a reporter gets information. The term is
used more often to describe people than documents.
✔✔Spot news - ✔✔A timely report of an event that is unfolding at the moment
✔✔Story - ✔✔A newspaper article. Most journalists use the term story. Another
synonym is piece, as in "I saw your piece on the mayor". A long story may be called a
take-out or a blockbuster.
✔✔Stylebook - ✔✔A book of rules on grammar, punctuation, capitalization and
abbreviation in newspaper text. The AP and UPI publish similar style books that are
used by most papers.
✔✔Summary lead - ✔✔The first paragraph of a news story in which the writer presents
a synopsis of two or more actions rather than focusing on any one of them.
