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How do Newspapers Work?

Amy Pollick
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Updated: Feb 13, 2024
Views: 18,047
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The media seems to be a mystery to many people and newspapers may seem especially mysterious, since no one ever "sees" the reporters, unlike television journalists. The newspapers appear in yards and in racks, with few pictures of the people who put it together. So how do newspapers work? This article will discuss how most small to medium size daily newspapers work, which constitutes most of the newspapers in the United States.

Newspapers usually have an administration department, which covers top management, payroll, accounting and human resources; a news department, where the reporters and photographers work; a production department, which is where the paper is readied for press; an advertising department and circulation, which handles subscriptions and delivery.

The news really begins in the newsroom. Reporters cover certain "beats," or areas, such as city hall or the county courthouse. They gather and write stories about their beats. These stories are either their own ideas or assigned by their editors. Most news departments have a department head for each news "segment" -- metro, features, sports, and so on. The heads of these departments are the editors. They see the finished stories, make corrections or suggestions and ultimately send them on to the copy desk.

The copy desk re-reads the stories for grammar and spelling, puts them on the page, and sends the "dummies" or printouts to the managing editor. The articles are proofed again and then cleared to be sent to the typesetter or plate maker. The plate making processes are mostly handled by computer, but occasionally a special ad or other feature will be made up by hand on large sheets and processed manually.

When all the pages have been sent, and the aluminum plates burned and placed on the press, the pressroom foreman starts the printing press, and in about 60 seconds, the first papers come out. These are usually not good copies, since the press will have to be calibrated for color and register during the press run. Papers then go back to the editors and copy desk, who look them over again for errors, and the newspapers are bundled and sent to the carriers.

The old movie cliché "Stop the presses!" is hardly ever heard, incidentally. Presses are huge machines and stopping them in the middle of the run unless absolutely necessary costs time and money. If the remake can wait until roll change, which is when the huge rolls of paper are replaced on the press and the press will have to be stopped anyway, that's when the change will be made.

Although newspapers are dedicated to informing the public on vital issues and events of community interest, they are still businesses and want to turn a profit. For this reason, newspapers charge for advertising. It pays the bills. Individuals or businesses can pay to place advertisements, with the advantage that the newspaper will give them as much space as they are willing to pay for.

Journalists at newspapers usually have college degrees in journalism or a related field such as English or language arts. In many ways, being a reporter is like any other 9-to-5 job, except that reporters are paid to be nosy. Many people don't think of reporters as being creative people, since they have the most workaday of the writing professions, but they are often highly creative people who write because that is what they love to do.

Newspapers work in a symbiotic relationship with the communities they serve. Communities supply the stories and the newspapers make sure those stories are told. Most newspaper staffs feel they are entrusted with the responsibility of telling the truth and take that duty very seriously.

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Amy Pollick
By Amy Pollick
Amy Pollick, a talented content writer and editor, brings her diverse writing background to her work at WiseGeek. With experience in various roles and numerous articles under her belt, she crafts compelling content that informs and engages readers across various platforms on topics of all levels of complexity.

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Discussion Comments
By anon321771 — On Feb 24, 2013

I am Amrita and I really need some advice. I'm a graduate with an engineering background, but I want to do some creative job in the newspaper industry, but I don't know which areas of the newspaper where I would apply. Can someone help?

By anon44705 — On Sep 09, 2009

Clyn, you are so right about newspaper people not wanting to change. We're facing that right now with our executive and metro editors. It doesn't help that they're married. They want to keep doing things the same old way they've always done them. We in the rest of the newsroom don't resent resources being placed in the online side, since this is probably our future. The problems come in when our editors don't know what can and can't be done online, and have no idea how long things can take. It's a little bizarre sometimes. And they do not want to learn anything new under any circumstances. We have one or two reporters like that, but the two editors are by far the worst. You have my sympathy.

By clyn — On Jul 09, 2009

In this day and age, add "online" as a department - or as part of the newsroom, depending on where a paper decides the staff fits. I worked in the online division of a newspaper company for years, posting wire copy and stories from the print edition. It was often frustrating, as the print newsroom in many papers often resents the money and resources devoted to online, while not being eager to learn how to change with the times and do things differently. The industry is changing quickly - or rather, the information industry is changing quickly, while too many elements of the newspaper industry desperately try to keep things exactly the same.

Amy Pollick
Amy Pollick
Amy Pollick, a talented content writer and editor, brings her diverse writing background to her work at WiseGeek. With...
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