F

Flat Rates:

A standard newspaper advertising rate where no discounts are offered for large quantity or repeated space buys.

Frequency:

The number of times a target audience is exposed to a media vehicle(s) in a specified period.

Feedback:

The responses of the receiver that shape and alter subsequent messages from the source.

Field Experiment:

An experiment that is conducted in a natural setting as opposed to a laboratory.

Filler:

A short news item of one or two paragraphs.

Focus Groups:

A qualitative marketing research method whereby a group of 10-12 consumers from the target market are led through a discussion regarding a particular topic such as a product, service, or advertising campaign.

Format:

Consistent programming designed to appeal to a certain segment of the audience.

Follow-up:

A story that follows up information in a previous story in order to uncover new facts.

Fount:

characters in a given size of any type (sometimes font).

Freelance:

Self-employed person, i.e. journalist.

Front office:

Usually the advertising and editorial part of a newspaper office to which the public are admitted.

Full-Service Agency:

An ad agency that handles all phases of advertising for its clients