journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, a scoop or exclusive is an item of

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

reported by one

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

news organization The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and th ...

before others, and of exceptional originality, importance, surprise, excitement, or secrecy. Scoops are important and likely to interest or concern many people. A scoop may be a new story, or a new aspect to an existing or

breaking news Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...

story. It may be unexpected, surprising, formerly secret, and may come from an exclusive

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

. Events witnessed by many people generally cannot become scoops, (e.g., a natural disaster, or the announcement at a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

). However, exclusive news content is not always a scoop, as it may not provide the requisite importance or excitement. A scoop may be also defined retrospectively; a story may come to be known as a scoop because of a historical change in perspective of a particular event. Due to their secret nature,

scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

are a prime source of scoops (e.g., the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

by ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' journalists Woodward and

Bernstein Bernstein is a common surname in the German language, meaning "amber" (literally "burn stone"). The name is used by both Germans and Jews, although it is most common among people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. The German pronunciation is , but in E ...

). Scoops are part of journalistic lore, and generally confer prestige on the journalist or news organization.

Word origin

The word ''scoop'' is of American origin, first documented in 1874. As a verb, meaning to beat someone in reporting first, it is first recorded in 1884.

Extended usage

More generally, a scoop is the first discovery or the first report of something important. In some of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's spy novels, a scoop is new information of major strategic importance, not, of course, intended for publication."I have received this information from Pali, he has visited Rumania." "Rumania? For the toxic-weapons conference? That would be a scoop!" John le Carré, ''

The Secret Pilgrim ''The Secret Pilgrim'' is a 1990 episodic novel by British writer John le Carré, set within the frame narrative of an informal dinner talk given at the spy-training school in Sarratt by George Smiley. As Smiley talks, the first-person narrator, ...

'', ch. 6, p. 140. A scoop in the scientific community is a report by one group before another, giving them

scientific priority In science, priority is the credit given to the individual or group of individuals who first made the discovery or propose the theory. Fame and honours usually go to the first person or group to publish a new finding, even if several researchers arr ...

References

External links

* {{wiktionary-inline, scoop
''In defense of scoops: Their reputation took a beating in Boston, but there are reasons to value the news scoop, and they go beyond ego and institutional pride''
by

Bill Grueskin Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, April 22, 2013,

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

''What’s a Toyota “Exclusive?” at This Point?: Bloomberg pushes the definition''
by

Dean Starkman Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, February 24, 2010,

''SCOOP! Flood of ‘scoops’ dilutes value of real exclusives''
by

Bill Adair Marion Danne "Bill" Adair (February 10, 1913 – June 17, 2002) was an American coach and interim manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). A second baseman, he was a career minor-league player who never rose about the Class AA level but who sp ...

and

Hank Tucker Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

, June 21, 2017,

Journalism Mass media events

Word origin

Extended usage

See also

References

External links