Updated March 24, 2026
We’re always getting questions about what certain obscure (or sometimes not-so-obscure) publishing terms mean. To help, we’re rolling out Mediabistro’s media glossary.
Also on Mediabistro
So, freelancers and media-job-seekers: Bookmark this bad boy and hit it up whenever you’re asking yourself, “What the heck is a nut graf?!”
All-rights contract: A legal contract between a publisher and a freelance writer which grants all rights to the completed work to the publisher. This is not so good for the writer. Before signing anything, it’s worth knowing the key terms in any freelance contract.
Beat: A subject or industry that a reporter (or editor) is responsible for covering. Also how you’ll generally feel after a long close night.
Book: Industry slang for a magazine. As in, “I’ve got a piece in the book this month.” Using it correctly is a reliable way to signal you know what you’re doing.
Clips: Your published writing samples, the currency of the freelance world. No clips, no assignments; good clips, better assignments. Simple math. If you’re just starting out, here’s how to build your portfolio from scratch.
Close: The night (or nights, at a monthly, bimonthly or quarterly) when pages are finally being finished off and sent to the printing plant. During a close, mag-world people have no life.
Credit line: A list of photographers, illustrators or stylists appearing in small type on the page. It’s like a byline, but for art people, and for no good reason, much smaller.
Deadline: When your assignment is due. Ignore them and they’ll stop being a problem, because you won’t get any more work.
Dek: A sentence or few sentences below a headline, a dek summarizes the article. Like many magazine-production terms, it’s intentionally misspelled (instead of “deck”) so that others involved in the process won’t accidentally think it’s real copy.
Display type: Heds, deks, pull quotes and other written material that’s printed in a larger font or different color from the main body copy, to help draw a reader’s attention.
Embargo: An agreement that information provided early (by a PR firm, company, or government agency) won’t be published until a specified date and time. Breaking an embargo is how you stop getting early information.
Evergreen: An article that has no news peg and thus can be published at any time of the year or repeatedly, year after year. A “glossary” column, for example, is an evergreen.
File: As a verb, when a writer submits a completed assignment to an editor. As a noun, the material submitted.
First North American Serial Rights (FNASR): The standard rights most magazines want to purchase: the right to publish your piece first, in North America, in print or digital. After that, the rights revert to you. Much better than an all-rights contract.
Galley (or galley proof): An early typeset version of a story sent for proofreading before it goes to print. If you’ve ever caught a typo in a final magazine, someone wasn’t reading their galleys.
Graf: A paragraph, once again intentionally misspelled.
Hed: An article’s headline, sometimes intentionally misspelled. Writing a great one is harder than it looks. These headline tips can help.
Independent contractor: Most freelancers are considered independent contractors, which means the publication doesn’t take legal responsibility for the employee, deducting taxes and so forth. Generally, but not always, an independent contractor doesn’t receive benefits. If you’re navigating the freelance life, here are 7 ways to be a more productive freelance writer.
Kicker: The final paragraph or sentence of a story, usually designed to be funny or wry or somehow end things with a bang.
Kill fee: Payment to a writer whose piece won’t be published. It’s usually a percentage of the agreed-upon piece fee, but sometimes it’s a flat rate.
Lede: The intentional misspelling of “lead,” it’s the opening to an article.
Masthead: The official list of names and job titles of those responsible for producing a publication: editors, writers, designers, art directors, sales representatives, publishers, lawyers and support staff. It usually runs someplace in the first few pages of a magazine, but it’s not always there, which is frustrating.
Multiple submission: Pitching the same story idea to several publications simultaneously.
Nut graf: Also sometimes known as trumpet or billboard graf, it comes right after the catchy lede and clearly lays out the thrust of the article. It’s like the thesis statement in a term paper. Here’s what else makes a good magazine story.
Off the record: Information provided by a source that cannot be used in print. It can, however, be used (without revealing the source) to coax information from another source, and sometimes people can be persuaded to put previously off-the-record information on the record. Not-for-attribution information, by contrast, may be used in print but without the source’s name attached. In general practice, information cannot be placed off the record retroactively.
On background: A step above off the record. Information provided on background can be published, but the source can’t be named or identified in any traceable way. Distinct from not for attribution, which is essentially the same thing with slightly looser conventions depending on who you ask.
Pay on acceptance: A policy under which the publisher pays the writer when the assigned article is completed and accepted by the editor. We like to be paid on acceptance.
Pay on publication: A policy under which the publisher pays the writer when (or soon after) the article appears in print. We like this less.
Pull quote: A compelling and provocative quote from a source that is “pulled” from the running text of an article and featured as display type.
Query, also called a pitch letter: A letter from a freelance writer to an assigning editor that describes a story idea. A query is also the term for a request from an article’s editor for more information to flesh out the piece. It can also be used as a verb. Inexplicably, some pronounce the word qwee-ree while others pronounce it qweh-ree. Not sure how to reach editors in the first place? Here’s advice on how freelancers can connect with editors.
Roundup: A story format that collects multiple examples, sources, or products on a single topic. Easy to pitch, easy to sell, and often evergreen.
Running text: The main text of an article or in a package, as distinct from sidebars, charts and so forth. Also sometimes called the main bar.
Service: A type of writing that offers advice and useful information. Also called a how-to.
Sidebar: Text or a chart that is separated from the main bar and highlights additional information about a story.
Slug: The short internal identifier given to a story during production. Has nothing to do with the slimy garden variety.
Spike: When an editor kills a story before assigning it a kill fee, meaning you did the work and got nothing. Not to be confused with a kill fee, which at least acknowledges your pain.
Stet: An editor’s indication on a manuscript that previously crossed-out text should be reinstated.
TK: A place marker used in drafts of an article to indicate missing information. It’s an intentional misspelling of “TC,” for “to come,” as in “more info to come.”
Work for hire: Like an all-rights contract, but baked into the job itself rather than negotiated per piece. If you’re a staffer, everything you write is probably work for hire whether you know it or not.
