View source for Byline

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{short description|Display of article author's name}}
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The '''byline''' (or '''by-line''' in [[British English]]) on a [[newspaper]] or [[magazine]] article gives the name of the [[writer]] of the [[Article (publishing)|article]]. Bylines are commonly placed between the [[headline]] and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''[[Reader's Digest]]'') place bylines at the bottom of the page to leave more room for graphical elements around the headline.

[[Dictionary.com]] defines a byline as "a printed line of text accompanying a news story, article, or the like, giving the author's name".<ref>{{Cite web|title = the definition of byline|url = https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/byline |website = Dictionary.com|access-date = October 31, 2015}}</ref>

== Examples ==
A typical newspaper byline might read:
<blockquote>'''Tom Joyce'''<br>''New Boston Post Reporter''</blockquote>

A byline can also include a brief article summary that introduces the author by name:
<blockquote>Penning a concise description of a long piece has never been as easy as often appears, as ''[[Staff writer|Staff Writer]]'' '''John Smith''' now explains:</blockquote>

Magazine bylines and bylines on [[opinion piece]]s often include biographical information on their subjects. A typical biographical byline on a piece of [[creative nonfiction]] might read:
<blockquote>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.''</blockquote>

== Prevalence ==
Bylines were rare before the late 19th century.  Before then, the most similar practice was the occasional "signed" or "signature" article.<ref name="Shafer">{{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}}</ref>  The word ''byline'' itself first appeared in print in 1926, in a scene set in a newspaper office in ''[[The Sun Also Rises]]'' by Ernest Hemingway.<ref name="Shafer" />

One of the earliest consistent uses of the idea was for battlefield reporting during the American Civil War.  In 1863, Union General [[Joseph Hooker]] required [[Battlefield reporter|battlefield reporters]] to sign their articles so that he would know which journalist to blame for any errors or security violations.<ref name="Shafer" />

The practice became more popular at the end of the 19th century, as [[journalists]] became more powerful and popular figures.<ref name="Shafer" />  Bylines were used to promote or create celebrities among some [[yellow journalism|yellow journalists]] 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.<ref name="Shafer" />

However, the increasing use of bylines was resisted by others, including the publisher–owner of ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[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.<ref name="Shafer" />  Bylines remained rare in that newspaper for several more decades.

The first [[Associated Press]] wire services story with a byline appeared in 1925, and the practice became commonplace shortly afterwards.<ref name="Shafer" />

Since the 1970s, most modern newspapers and magazines have attributed almost all but their shortest articles and their own [[editorial]] pieces to individual reporters or to [[wire service]]s.<ref name="Shafer" />

An exception is the British weekly ''[[The Economist]]'', which publishes nearly all material except blog posts [[anonymity|anonymously]]. ''The Economist'' explains this practice as being traditional and reflective of the collaborative nature of their reporting.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==False attribution==
Articles that originate from press agency journalists are sometimes incorrectly attributed to newspaper staff. Dominic Ponsford of the ''[[Press Gazette]]'' gives the following examples:
*Ben Ellery's interview with the boyfriend of murdered [[Jo Yeates]] appeared in the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' and ''[[Daily Mirror]];'' the former newspaper carried four bylines, none of which credited Ellery.
*Andrew Buckwell's exclusive on a paternity issue involving [[Boris Johnson]] appeared in the ''Daily Mail'' without a byline crediting him.<ref name=pressgazette/>

Ponsford also highlights cases in which newspapers byline fictional authors for pieces that attack other newspapers: for example, the ''[[Daily Express]]''{{'}}s use of "Brendon Abbott".<ref name=pressgazette>{{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}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [[Acknowledgment (creative arts and sciences)]]
* [[Attribution (copyright)]]
* [[Byline strike]]
* [[Credit (creative arts)]]
* [[Dateline]]
* [[Lower third]], byline for TV journalists
* [[Pen name]]
* [[Signature block]]
* [[Strapline]], unrelated but often confused, this is a slogan or product name in advertising.

==References==
<references />{{Portal bar|Journalism}}

[[Category:Newspaper content]]
[[Category:Newspaper terminology]]