A masthead is a list, usually found on the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine, of the members of the newspaper's editorial board. If no editorial board exists, the masthead will often feature a list of top news staff members. Some mastheads also include information such as the publication's founding date, slogan, logo and contact information.

The logo at the front of a newspaper is often mistakenly called a masthead. It is properly a banner or nameplate.

The term masthead is borrowed from the shipping industry, when a brass plate would be affixed to the main mast of a commercial sailing vessel. This plate contained the name of the owner or owners of a ship.

Sample mastheads

• Masthead for The New Republic magazine

Incorrect use of the word on websites

The word masthead or imprint is sometimes used on international websites. This is usually a mistake based on the incorrect translation of German websites, because in German speaking countries laws require a website to have an "Impressum" (legals, website details) in the way newspapers do. A better translation from the German "Impressum" may be "Impressum - Legal Disclosure," or "Impressum - Legal Notice." This retains the original German as required by law while telling English speakers much more than "masthead" or "imprint."

de:Impressum fr:Ours (imprimerie) hu:Impresszum ja:Impressum pl:Stopka redakcyjna ru:????????? zh:Impressum