# Byline > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Byline > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Byline.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byline > Source revision: 1347201410 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}} {{short description|Display of article author's name}} {{other uses}} {{Journalism sidebar}} The '''byline''' (or '''by-line''' in [British English](/source/British_English)) on a [newspaper](/source/newspaper) or [magazine](/source/magazine) article gives the name of the [writer](/source/writer) of the [article](/source/Article_(publishing)). Bylines are commonly placed between the [headline](/source/headline) and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''[Reader's Digest](/source/Reader's_Digest)'') place bylines at the bottom of the page to leave more room for graphical elements around the headline. [Dictionary.com](/source/Dictionary.com) defines a byline as "a printed line of text accompanying a news story, article, or the like, giving the author's name".{{Cite web|title = the definition of byline|url = https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/byline |website = Dictionary.com|access-date = October 31, 2015}} == Examples == A typical newspaper byline might read:
'''Tom Joyce'''
''New Boston Post Reporter''
A byline can also include a brief article summary that introduces the author by name:
Penning a concise description of a long piece has never been as easy as often appears, as ''[Staff Writer](/source/Staff_writer)'' '''John Smith''' now explains:
Magazine bylines and bylines on [opinion piece](/source/opinion_piece)s often include biographical information on their subjects. A typical biographical byline on a piece of [creative nonfiction](/source/creative_nonfiction) might read:
John Smith is working on a book, ''My Time in Ibiza'', based on this article. He is returning to the region this summer to gather material for a follow-up essay.
== Prevalence == Bylines were rare before the late 19th century. Before then, the most similar practice was the occasional "signed" or "signature" article.{{Cite news|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2012/07/06/how-the-byline-beast-was-born/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707071407/http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2012/07/06/how-the-byline-beast-was-born/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2012|title=How the byline beast was born|last=Shafer|first=Jack |date=July 6, 2012 |website=Reuters|access-date=December 11, 2016}} The word ''byline'' itself first appeared in print in 1926, in a scene set in a newspaper office in ''[The Sun Also Rises](/source/The_Sun_Also_Rises)'' by Ernest Hemingway. One of the earliest consistent uses of the idea was for battlefield reporting during the American Civil War. In 1863, Union General [Joseph Hooker](/source/Joseph_Hooker) required [battlefield reporters](/source/Battlefield_reporter) to sign their articles so that he would know which journalist to blame for any errors or security violations. The practice became more popular at the end of the 19th century, as [journalists](/source/journalists) became more powerful and popular figures. Bylines were used to promote or create celebrities among some [yellow journalists](/source/yellow_journalism) during this time. Proponents of signed articles believed that the signature made the journalist more careful and more honest; publishers thought it made papers sell better. However, the increasing use of bylines was resisted by others, including the publisher–owner of ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', [Adolph Ochs](/source/Adolph_Ochs), who believed that bylines interfered with the impersonal nature of news and decreased the sense of institutional responsibility for an article's content. Bylines remained rare in that newspaper for several more decades. The first [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) wire services story with a byline appeared in 1925, and the practice became commonplace shortly afterwards. Since the 1970s, most modern newspapers and magazines have attributed almost all but their shortest articles and their own [editorial](/source/editorial) pieces to individual reporters or to [wire service](/source/wire_service)s. An exception is the British weekly ''[The Economist](/source/The_Economist)'', which publishes nearly all material except blog posts [anonymously](/source/anonymity). ''The Economist'' explains this practice as being traditional and reflective of the collaborative nature of their reporting.{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-itself-1|title=Why are The Economist's writers anonymous?|date=September 5, 2013|newspaper=The Economist|issn=0013-0613|access-date=December 11, 2016|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520121948/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/09/04/why-are-the-economists-writers-anonymous|archive-date=May 20, 2018}} ==False attribution== Articles that originate from press agency journalists are sometimes incorrectly attributed to newspaper staff. Dominic Ponsford of the ''[Press Gazette](/source/Press_Gazette)'' gives the following examples: *Ben Ellery's interview with the boyfriend of murdered [Jo Yeates](/source/Jo_Yeates) appeared in the ''[Daily Mail](/source/Daily_Mail)'' and ''[Daily Mirror](/source/Daily_Mirror);'' the former newspaper carried four bylines, none of which credited Ellery. *Andrew Buckwell's exclusive on a paternity issue involving [Boris Johnson](/source/Boris_Johnson) appeared in the ''Daily Mail'' without a byline crediting him. Ponsford also highlights cases in which newspapers byline fictional authors for pieces that attack other newspapers: for example, the ''[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)''{{'}}s use of "Brendon Abbott".{{cite web|url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/national-press-byline-bandits-when-the-first-line-of-a-story-is-a-lie-how-can-we-trust-the-rest-51250/|title=National press byline bandits: When the first line of a story is a lie, how can we trust the rest?|author=Ponsford, Dominic|date=April 13, 2011|access-date=April 18, 2011|work=PressGazette|publisher=Wilmington Business Information}} ==See also== {{Wiktionary}} * [Acknowledgment (creative arts and sciences)](/source/Acknowledgment_(creative_arts_and_sciences)) * [Attribution (copyright)](/source/Attribution_(copyright)) * [Byline strike](/source/Byline_strike) * [Credit (creative arts)](/source/Credit_(creative_arts)) * [Dateline](/source/Dateline) * [Lower third](/source/Lower_third), byline for TV journalists * [Pen name](/source/Pen_name) * [Signature block](/source/Signature_block) * [Strapline](/source/Strapline), unrelated but often confused, this is a slogan or product name in advertising. ==References== {{Portal bar|Journalism}} Category:Newspaper content Category:Newspaper terminology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Byline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byline) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byline?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.