- Attribution
- The judgement that a change in behaviour or opinion followed from a particular piece of communication. Always partial, and honest reporting says so. Used in context.
- Background
- Information given to a reporter to help them understand a subject, on the agreed condition that it is not quoted directly. Used in context.
- Baseline
- A record of where things stood before the work began, without which no later measurement can show movement. Used in context.
- Beat
- The subject area a particular reporter covers. Approaches sent outside a reporter’s beat mark the sender as unfamiliar with the publication. Used in context.
- Boilerplate
- The short standing factual description of an organisation that closes a release. Used in context.
- Bridging
- Answering the question asked and then connecting the answer to the point that needed making. Skipping the first half turns it into deflection. Used in context.
- Cascade
- The structure by which an internal message travels through the management line so that people hear it from someone they can question. Used in context.
- Embargo
- An agreement, offered in advance and accepted, to hold an item until a stated time. Used in context.
- Exclusive
- An arrangement giving one outlet sole early access, trading breadth of coverage for depth. Used in context.
- Holding statement
- A short statement issued early that says what is known, says what is not yet established, and states when the next update will come. Used in context.
- Lead
- The opening paragraph carrying the whole announcement, written so that a reader who stops there still describes the item correctly. Used in context.
- On the record
- The default condition of any conversation with a reporter: everything said may be quoted and attributed unless something else was agreed beforehand. Used in context.
- Outcome
- What changed among the people the work was aimed at, as distinct from what was published about it. Used in context.
- Output
- What was published, where and in what form. A record of activity, not of effect. Used in context.
- Pull-through
- The share of the intended points that survived into published coverage, found by reading the coverage rather than counting it. Used in context.
- Return path
- The route by which questions raised during an internal cascade travel back up and are answered visibly. Used in context.
- Share of voice
- How much of the coverage in a subject area concerned one organisation. Useful as context, weak as a result on its own. Used in context.
- Stakeholder
- Any group whose understanding of an organisation matters to it, including those who will never be customers. Used in context.