bus plunge

noun3

1. •
   A phrase often used in filler story headlines in print newspapers, prior to the adoption of computer-aided typesetting and publishing methods, as it filled out the usual width of a column in the eight-column layout then prevalent in the industry.

   • “One of them said to me, ‘We’re keeping up the bus plunges in your absence,’ or words to that effect,” says Siegal. Bus plunges had become an inside joke, with editors scouting the wires for new ones. — 2006
2. •
   A specific instance of such a story.

   • We ran a bus plunge story on page 6 to fill the empty space so we could make deadline.
3. •
   A similar example in other media of a filler story.