reefer
n. A small article on the front page of a newspaper that refers the reader to a larger story inside the paper.
Examples
1997
The NYT and WP fronts don't mention the open houses. Nor does the Wall Street Journal Tax Report. On its front, the LAT has only a tiny box reefer pointing to the story deep inside.
—Scott Shuger, “Now She Tells Us,” Slate Magazine, October 01, 1997
1993
That same day, though, a front-page "reefer" item (a paragraph referring the reader to a story on an inside page) read: "Local entrepreneur Jimmy Hewatt is closing the door on a 34-year career of innovations in the building-supply business."
—Elliot Brackbusiness, “Hardware man nailed by our mistake,” The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, February 01, 1993
1991 (earliest)
The New York Times ran a "reefer," or paragraph on the front page referring to a story on an inside page, with the new term for "change of mind" subtly noted: "President Bush and Prime Minister John Major of Britain announced that some increased food aid to the Soviet Union would bypass the central authorities and be sent directly to republics struggling for greater autonomy. The step was called 'a natural evolution of policy.' "
—William Safire, “When Putsch Comes to Coup,” The New York Times, September 22, 1991
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