Black. There is much more to the word than just the colour or being the title of the latest Big B hit. In journalistic parlance, the copy of the top news story is also called Black.
In the same manner, Bulldog is not just a smooth-haired dog. It also refers to the first edition of a newspaper.
Or for that matter, field besides its literal meaning, also stands for half of a complete television picture.
Chandrakant P Singh, a journalist and faculty member at Delhi's Indian Institute of Mass Communication has compiled these and thousands of other such words, which are widely used in print, television and Internet journalism these days.
Kill is not just a command to murder someone but a simple instruction not to use a particular story.
Middle market denotes newspapers, which stand between heavies and pops (big and small).
A one-man band refers to a reporter in a smaller market who doubles as a photographer.
"The book includes key as well as related concepts and terms - those originating from advertising, time selling, circulation, production and public relations - often used by media professionals," says Singh.
Terms specific to a country or a region are also put in proper context.
Citing one such example, it says Dak Edition means a newspaper edition brought out for places far off from the production centre, and is used only in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Over 4000 key concepts and related terms have been grouped into four major categories - TV and Radio, Internet and Communication Technologies, Newspaper, Magazine Printing and Publishing and Advertising, PR and e-commerce.
However, many of the concepts, which one would like to understand in their historical context, have been given a very neutral treatment. Citing one such case, Singh says if one is looking for the term newspapers, the book gives a very standard and neutral definition and not its historical development over last two and a half centuries.
Dictionary of Media and Journalism, Edited by Chandrakant P Singh, Published by IK International Pvt Ltd, Price Rs 155, PP 331.
