five W's

American

plural noun

Journalism. who, what, when, where, and why: along with how, the essential questions about the subject of a news story that the lead is traditionally expected to answer.

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five W's

This is one of the core principles captured by the dictate of the five W's -- who, what, when, how and why -- taught in every high school-level journalism class.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2018

In journalism, there are five W’s — who, what, why, where and when.

From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023