FBLA JOURNALISM FINAL EXAM 2026 ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Open-ended question - ✔✔A question that permits the respondent some latitude in
the answer-for example, "How did you get involved in politics?"
✔✔Open-meetings law - ✔✔A state or federal law guaranteeing public access to
meetings of public officials. Also called a sunshine law
✔✔Open-records law - ✔✔A state or federal law guaranteeing public access to many-
but not all- kinds of government records
✔✔PDF file - ✔✔Short for portable document format. An electronic facsimile of a printed
document
✔✔Photo editor - ✔✔The individual who advises editors on the use of photographs in
the newspaper. The photo editor also may supervise in the photography department
✔✔plagiarism - ✔✔Using any part of another person's writing and passing it off as your
own
✔✔Podcasting - ✔✔A method of distributing multimedia files, usually audio or video, to
mobile devices or personal computers so that consumers can listen or watch on
demand. The term derived from Apple Inc.'s iPod, but podcasts may be received by
almost any music player or computer
✔✔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 - ✔✔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.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Open-ended question - ✔✔A question that permits the respondent some latitude in
the answer-for example, "How did you get involved in politics?"
✔✔Open-meetings law - ✔✔A state or federal law guaranteeing public access to
meetings of public officials. Also called a sunshine law
✔✔Open-records law - ✔✔A state or federal law guaranteeing public access to many-
but not all- kinds of government records
✔✔PDF file - ✔✔Short for portable document format. An electronic facsimile of a printed
document
✔✔Photo editor - ✔✔The individual who advises editors on the use of photographs in
the newspaper. The photo editor also may supervise in the photography department
✔✔plagiarism - ✔✔Using any part of another person's writing and passing it off as your
own
✔✔Podcasting - ✔✔A method of distributing multimedia files, usually audio or video, to
mobile devices or personal computers so that consumers can listen or watch on
demand. The term derived from Apple Inc.'s iPod, but podcasts may be received by
almost any music player or computer
✔✔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 - ✔✔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.
