A morgue file originally was a collection of paper folders containing old files and notes kept by criminal investigators, as well as old article clippings kept by

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

reporters 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 ...

, in case they became of later use as a quick reference collection. In modern usage, its scope has expanded to cover many post-production materials for use of reference, or an inactive job file. The term is popular in the newspaper business to describe the file that holds past issues flats. The term has also been used by illustrators, comic book artists, designers and teachers. The newspaper magnate

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

forbade his papers from keeping a morgue file on him. Artist

Doug Wildey Douglas S. Wildey He recalled his professional start as freelancing for the magazine and comic book company Street & Smith in 1947. Because comic-book writer and artist credits were not routinely given during this era, the earliest confirmed Wilde ...

was known for his huge morgue file of photo references. He became so adept at depicting actual people, that it becomes an ancillary enjoyment trying to identify the celebrities' cameo appearances in his artwork.

External links

Photographic File of the Paris Bureau of the New York Times, ca. 1900 - ca. 1950

References

English-language idioms Journalism terminology {{journalism-stub