Newspaper Structure - Lecture Notes given to us. PDF

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NEWSPAPER STRUCTURE To understand how a newspaper functions internally, it is important to know its structure. Broadly speaking, a newspaper has several departments and all of them have to work in cohesion and coordination. It has to be a closely knit unit. The following are the departments functional in a newspaper. They are: 1)Editorial (News) Department: The editorial departments basically deals with news and opinion. Depending on the size of the organization, these departments also vary in size. Within the editorial department there are other divisions. a)Newsroom: News is written and processed in the newsroom. These processes are carried out electronically or manually, depending on the status of the newspaper. News can be received by wire, telephones or through personal interviews. Usually, the newsroom works for almost round the clock. A team of reporters also gathers local/city news. The reporting team fans out to cover wide areas called beats. The processing is normally done by what is known as the copydesk. Starting with sub editors to the higher hierarchy like the news editor, the copydesk edits, revises and checks the newscopies. The top rung editors deal with opinions/editorials and are also involved in taking policy decisions or the news schedule for the day. b)Photography division: Most big newspapers have a team of photographers who work closely with the editorial team. The assignments are given to the photographers team by the senior editorial functionaries. At times, the photographers shoot on their own. c)Library: Every newspaper requires a reference library. It stores books, others newspapers and other reference material that can be used as and when called for. This department also archives old issues of the newspaper. d)Business department: This department is mainly responsible for earning revenue for the mediahouse. A newspaper cannot survive on the money made through circulation alone. The one source which enables it to earn good revenue is through advertisements. The department receives, spends and invests money. Everything relating to the business of the newspaper is handled by it. e)Advertisement department: This department deals with advertisements. It regulates and schedules ads. It decides usually which ad has to go where. The economic well being of a newspaper is estimated in terms of the advertisements it is able to get. Within this department there are other sections like classified ads, publicity and display ads etc. f)Circulation division: Circulation is the lifeline of the newspaper. A full-fledged team ensures that the newspaper is sold across as widely as possible. A wider reach and circulation is an indicator of the newspaper’s popularity. It is the responsibility of the circulation personnel that the newspaper is transported to all nooks and corners, including far off places when the news is still fresh. They use trucks, buses, trains, flights and private vehicles for the purpose. g)Printing/Publishing department: The printing and publishing department does all operations required to print the newspaper. From procuring newsprint to other material like ink, the department makes sure that the paper comes out sparkling clean and well printed. h)HR/Personnel department: This department keeps track of the personnel engaged with the newspaper. It also holds recruitment processes. All the hiring and firing is done

through this department. It also manages all administrative matters relating to the employment. A newspaper also has other smaller departments. For instance most big newspapers have stores department where material and stationary is stored. There is also a promotion or PR department which does the brand building for the paper. In some newspapers, this department is an integral part of the business department. With newspapers making newer technological advances, using computers, many newspapers also have a hardware engineering section and a data processing which is responsible for the upkeep of the technological equipment and data storage respectively....