back of the book

back of the book

1. (publishing, broadcasting) Less important or less hard-hitting material relegated to the later pages of a print publication or the later stages of a television broadcast.
   • 1999, Bartholomew H. Sparrow, Uncertain Guardians: The News Media as a Political Institution, page 97:

     "Segment 3" established the daily presence of a five-minute back-of-the-book feature on network newscasts. Although previously the TV networks had usually featured soft news at the end of their evening news, on some days the soft-news feature did not make it on the air because of the judged newsworthiness of the hard news.

   • 2004, Herbert J. Gans, Democracy and the News, page 29:

     The change in the hard/soft news ratio has taken on several forms. In the print media, the change can be seen clearly by the expansion of "back of the book" sections, for example, about subjects as varied as science and gardening. Television has no formal back of the book, but there are now fewer sections devoted to domestic and international political news.

   • 2014, Christopher D. Benson, Charles F. Whitaker, Magazine Writing:

     Some magazines use the back-of-the-book merely for story “jumps” (continuations of articles from the feature well). Others fill the back-of-the-book with additional departments and columns.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see back,‎ book.

• back matter