news peg

American  

noun

1. a news story that forms the basis of or justification for a feature story, editorial, political cartoon, or the like.

2. the reference in a feature story, editorial, or the like, to the newsworthy event that underlies or justifies it.

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Etymology

Origin of news peg

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

They get not only that moment but an artificial news peg—a chance to reassess whatever narrative is setting in that they don’t like.

From Slate

The next change — and this is the breaking news peg that makes this column so timely — will occur on Saturday, Feb. 5.

From Los Angeles Times

CNN’s Brian Stelter, who is writing a book about the culture of Fox News, suggested in his Monday newsletter that the Trump administration and Fox News’s talk shows have picked Portland as a new stage for Trump’s “Law and Order” show: “Programs like Fox & Friends have been prioritizing urban violence over the Covid-19 crisis for several weeks; Portland was just the latest news peg.”

From Washington Post

Nick always required a “news peg” to feature assignments, and with the Glen Campbell Los Angeles Open returning to “Hogan’s Alley,” Riviera Country Club, after a 20-year hiatus, the golf world looked nowhere else but to Jim Murray’s L.A.

From Golf Digest

The story also had a news peg: the launch of the new Los Angeles Times Book Club, led by Donna Wares.

From Los Angeles Times