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Lecture 2 - Introduction To Newsroom

The document provides an overview of newsrooms, including their functions, processes, roles, and changing patterns due to technology. Newsrooms gather, select, edit and design news to meet deadlines. Roles include reporters, editors, and trainees. Technology now allows online access and updating of content.

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Ehsaas Rifat
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274 views24 pages

Lecture 2 - Introduction To Newsroom

The document provides an overview of newsrooms, including their functions, processes, roles, and changing patterns due to technology. Newsrooms gather, select, edit and design news to meet deadlines. Roles include reporters, editors, and trainees. Technology now allows online access and updating of content.

Uploaded by

Ehsaas Rifat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to

Newsroom
NEWSROOM

 Newsroom is the place where actual news operation takes place.


 It is the heart of a newspaper where information is processed into news and views.
 The editorial wing (also known as Editorial Department or Copy Desk or News
Desk) and reporting wings are parts of the newsroom.
 The newsroom never sleeps as here various activities take place in three shifts -.
morning, afternoon and night.
FUNCTIONS OF A NEWSROOM

 A team consisting of editorial and reporting staff completes various assignments,


which include news gathering, news selection, news editing and page making etc.
under the leadership of editor.
 All these activities are known as news processing which take place every day in a
newsroom under tremendous pressure in order to meet the deadlines.
News Gathering

 Reporters are one of the main sources of news. They cover various beats and
collect news.
 Thereafter, news is submitted to newsroom, where it is processed and put up in a
presentable manner.
 The close coordination between the editing and reporting wing is very important
in the process of news making and presentation.
News Selection

 The next step is the selection of news.


 In a newspaper organisation, a number of gatekeepers work at various points in
the editing and reporting wings. Their duty is to select or reject information on the
basis of their news-worthiness.
 Even the reporter has to reject some events/incidents, which do not have news
value.
News Editing

 Editing is the final point of a newsroom, where a sub/copy editor examines the
news value of that news story and edits it in order to make it readable.
 S/he reads all news stories carefully, edits and fine tunes the news items and reads
it again.
 A sub editor follows the editing methods such as arranging, adding, reducing and
translating the facts and gives a readable shape including a headline to the news
items.
Page Designing and Layout

 Presentation of a newspaper is very important for attracting readers and that is


why newspaper organisations are doing extensive research on content presentation
and implementing the findings.
 The presentation includes placement of news and photos, use of logos,
illustrations and graphics and most importantly; style sheet that covers font,
colour, box and pointers etc.
EDITORIAL STRUCTURE OF A
NEWSPAPER
Editor/Chief Editor/Editor-in-Chief

 An experienced and visionary professional who heads a newspaper organisation is


known as the Editor or Chief Editor or Editor-in-Chief. S/he supervises and
controls all the newsrooms (in multi-edition newspapers) that come under his/her
authority.
 The person is actively involved in the planning and growth of newspaper and
being the head of the news as well as views wing, s/he is responsible for
everything particularly the editorial page, which is considered to be the voice of a
newspaper.
Executive Editor

 As the name suggests, Executive Editor executes the vision of the Editor-in-Chief
or Chief Editor into reality.
 S/he takes part in all initiatives taken by the Chief Editor and accordingly gives
suggestions to the junior staff.
 In the absence of the Editor-in-Chief, s/he looks after all the activities of the
newsroom.
Resident Editor

 In the case of multi-edition newspapers published from different


cities/towns/capitals, a person who heads that particular edition is known as
Resident Editor.
 For example, The Times of India originates from Mumbai, but its other editions
are from New Delhi, Kolkata, Patna and Chandigarh etc.
 Thus Resident Editor serves as extended arms of the Chief Editor, who
implements the newspaper’s policies and is responsible for the selection and
publication of news and views for the local editions. S/he heads the local editorial
and reporting wing of a newspaper
Assistant Editor

 The Assistant Editor assists the chief editor and performs the duties assigned by
the chief editor.
 This may be writing an editorial, looking after the feature page and supplements
etc.
 S/he is the key person, who is closely associated with the chief editor.
News Editor

 The News Editor is a key person in newsroom, who decides the selection and
rejection of news items.
 S/he allocates news to different pages on the basis of its importance and
supervises his/her colleagues at different levels such as news placement and page
designing etc.
 S/he is always in close contact with the news and reporting wing for better co-
ordination.
 The news editor knows the policies of the newspaper and implements the same
under the guidance of the editor.
Chief Sub/Copy Editor

 The Chief Sub Editor performs all the duties of news operation with the help of
senior sub editor and sub editors.
 S/he distributes news items to sub editor for editing and pages for designing.
 Further, s/he also decides the treatment or angle and length and breadth of news
story.
 The chief sub coordinates with news and reporting wing for better coverage and
also consults with the advertisement and circulation wing.
Senior Sub/Copy Editor

 For smooth functioning of the newsroom and to assist the chief sub editor; the
senior sub editor mediates between the chief sub editor and sub editors.
 S/he ensures accuracy, objectivity and balance in news processing for avoiding
mistakes during pressure hours.
 In the absence or shortage of staff, the senior sub editor performs all the duties of
sub editors, such as news editing and page designing etc.
Sub/Copy Editor

 The sub editor plays one of the most important roles in the publication of a
newspaper.
 S/he actively engages oneself in various works such as news editing, processing
and page designing etc. during pressure hours.
 A sub editor performs various duties such as: editing and rewriting a news story
with an impressive intro in an inverted pyramid form; giving pointers to a
news item; caption to a photo; and translating news item from English to the
concerned language.
 In doing so, s/he keeps the available space in view and ensures proper placement
of story and designing on the assigned page and proof reading.
 A sub editor works behind the scene and hardly gets the kind of appreciation
a reporter gets but gets fired by seniors for making mistakes.
Trainee

 A trainee is a newcomer who joins a newspaper just after the completion of


his/her professional degree.
 In order to understand the working mechanism of a newsroom, s/he is put in
association with a sub editor, where s/he learns the basic principles of news
editing and page designing.
 S/he also seeks guidance from the senior members regarding the functioning of a
newsroom
News Wing

 News Desk is the central place, where actual news operation takes place.
 In addition there are some specialised desks where specialised work is done such
as Business Desk, Sports Desk, Foreign Desk, Film Desk, and Special Pages.
 These desks work independently from Central Editing Desk.
Reporting Wing

 Bureau Chief
 Special Correspondent
 Chief Reporter
 Senior Reporter
 Reporter
 Stringer
 News Agencies
CHANGING PATTERNS OF
NEWS ROOMS
 The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the
face of newsrooms.
 The computer and internet based technology has replaced the old and traditional
methods of news processing.
 It has become very easy to cross-check facts through internet, modify news
selection, rejection and placement process through various software’s like Word
Pro, News Pro and Word Xpress etc.
 It is also possible to break the designed page and redesign it through software like
Quark Xpress, In-Design and Page Maker etc.
Online Media

 Due to the advent of digital technology; media is produced and consumed on


digital devices.
 Online media is different from print media. Literacy is the primary requirement in
the case of print media which is not required for online media as there is
substantial use of audio and video components in it.
 Live discussions and various other formats are used in the online media platforms.
Online Media

 In print media there is always a time limit for the collection of news as its
publication remains due until that time, but in online media there is no such
deadline and information can be updated anytime at regular intervals.
 The newsroom setup for online media comprises fully equipped editorial
department with online reporters and online editors.
 Content reproduction and updation is much simpler and cheaper in online media.
It reaches out to the large, scattered, heterogeneous and anonymous audience at
the same time.
Thank You

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