What's the word for using alternative descriptions in place of a name?

Question

There's a word for a replacement of a name with a description of that person, place or whatever thing the name belongs to. This is a very common rhetorical device (especially in newspapers and magazines) but I only once saw the name of this device, and I can't recall it.

For example, a journalist writing about Walt Disney might start out by calling him "Disney," but somewhere in the article you might find the journalist replacing the name with with a description, like so: "The media mogul said that he wanted to..."

Anyone know what word I'm talking about?

Answer 1

How about antonomasia?

Substituting a descriptive phrase for a proper name, or substituting a proper name for a quality associated with it. (=periphrasis)

Examples

You must pray to heaven's guardian for relief.

He proved a Judas to the cause.

_{Source: Silva Rhetoricae: antonomasia}

Answer 2

This is the modern form of the age-old kenning also known as Homerian epithet.

The old poets used such devices for the sake of elegant variation, and also to make mention of the person referred to fit within available metric constraints.