Word Confusion: Newsletter versus Newspaper

Posted October 24, 2024 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Another word confusion I wondered about, newsletter versus newspaper.

It’s simple enough. A newsletter is generally an internal form of communication with news of particular interest that targets a specific group of people.

A newspaper is a public form of communication filled with news, advertisements, editorials, and more that has a more general audience.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Newsletter Newspaper

Multipage newsletter with a royal blue masthead.
Bat News by MagneziUm Design Studio Belgrade is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr.

This newsletter has an eye-catching masthead.

Different newspapers in stacks on a rack.
Newspaper Rack Featuring Several Local and Regional Newspapers, 28 August 2023, at the Wawa in Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, is Famartin‘s work is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun

Plural: newsletters

Noun; Verb, intransitive

Plural for the noun: newspapers

Third person present verb: newspapers
Past tense or past participle: newspapered
Present participle: newspapering

Noun:
A bulletin issued periodically to the members of a society, business, or organization

  • A publication that shares news, updates, or other content with a specific group of people
Noun:
[Often shortened to paper] A printed publication (usually issued daily or weekly) consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence

  • The organization responsible for producing a particular newspaper
  • [Printing, Lithography, & Bookbinding] A less common name for newsprint

Verb, intransitive:
To do newspaper work

Examples:
Noun:
Newsletters can be printed or electronic and are often sent to customers, employees, or subscribers of a business or organization.

Authors setting up a website are encouraged to send out a newsletter, a.k.a. an email, to subscribers.

Our apartment building has a monthly newsletter.

The company newsletter is useful but dull.

It’s not debatable as it’s in newsprint.

Noun:
All the newspapers carried the story.

I read this great newspaper article on the truth behind FEMA helping after Hurricane Helene.

Murdoch owns many newspapers.

She left her muddy boots on a piece of newspaper.

Ms Henry joined the newspaper 10 months ago.

Other names for newspaper include gazette, tribune, herald, and mercury.

Verb, intransitive:
He newspapered for the New York Times some years back.

John’s newspapered for years.

So, are you still newspapering?

Derivatives:
Adjective: newsy
Noun: newsagent, newscast, newscaster, newspaperdom, newspapering, newspaperman, newspaperwoman
History of the Word:
First used in the 1670s, newsletter comes from news + letter. The earliest known use of newspaper comes from news and paper and was in 1667 in the writing of the Earl of Arlington, as a noun. The earliest known use of the verb was in the early 1700s, in the writing of Daniel Defoe.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Building Your Website, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Marketing Help & Resources, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, and/or Writing Ideas and Resources.

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Resources for Newsletter versus Newspaper

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

The Free Dictionary: newspaper

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Pinterest Photo Credits

September 2006 Newsletter is courtesy of the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab). and is under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. Antique Newspaper is in the public domain, via RawPixel.

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