Journalism & Media vocabulary · Headlines and News Language
Standfirst
Meaning in journalism & media, with examples
/ˈstændfɜːst/nounAdvanced term
In journalism & media, standfirst means: A short introductory sentence or paragraph between a headline and the article, usually in bold or larger type, that summarises the story.
In Turkish: spot, özet giriş, başlık altı
How it is used
A British newspaper and magazine term. In the US the same element is called a dek or deck, and online it is often called a subheadline or summary. Sub-editors usually write it together with the headline.
Example sentences
The standfirst should add something the headline doesn't already say.
I rewrote the standfirst to mention the number of people affected.
Common collocations
write a standfirst
headline and standfirst
dek
subheadline
Related terms
headlineThe title printed above a news story in large letters, or written at the top of an online article, that tells readers quickly what the story is about.
leadThe opening sentence or paragraph of a news story, which gives the most important facts and makes the reader want to continue.
captionA short piece of text under or next to a photo, chart or video that explains what it shows, who is in it and sometimes who took it.
copy editorAn editor who checks and corrects reporters' text for accuracy, grammar, style and length, and often writes headlines and captions.
