Newspaper
organization has various departments taking care of a variety of tasks. Each
department has a specified function with several staff taking care of each
function. Various departments that are a
part of a newspaper organization include:
1. Editorial department
2. Advertising department
3. Circulation department
4. Printing department
5. Administrative department
6. Stores department
7. IT department
Let us discuss the functions of these departments in brief
EDITORIAL
DEPARTMENT
The
editorial department forms the backbone of any newspaper organization. As the
name implies, this department is the one responsible for content creation in
any newspaper establishment. The main responsibilities of this department is
the gathering of news, selecting which news and features get to be published in
the paper, editing the news and features that have been selected for
publication and then laying them out for print.
Following chart represents the hierarchy of the department followed by a
brief description of the functions performed by various staff members.
Publisher-
The publisher is responsible for all of the operations of the newspaper, both
editorial and business. The main job of the publisher is to see that the
newspaper remains financially healthy.
Editor-
The editor is responsible for all of the editorial content of the newspaper and
for the budgets and money spent by the editorial side of the newspaper. Often
in smaller papers, the publisher and editor is the same person.
Editorial
page editor- The editorial page editor is responsible for the editorial page
and the "op-ed" page of the newspaper. These pages are where the
newspaper's editorials are printed as well as letters to the editor, columns by
syndicated columnists and guest columns by local people.
Managing
editor- This is the person who is in charge of the day-to-day production of the
newspaper.
City
Editor- The city editor -sometimes called the metro editor -is in charge of the
news coverage of the area in which the newspaper is located. The city editor
usually has the largest staff and assigns tasks to most of the local news
reporters.
News
reporter- A news reporter gathers information about news stories in the local
area. There are generally two kinds of reporters: i) a beat reporter, and ii) a
general assignment reporter.
A
beat reporter covers the same subject or location all the time. The subject is
generally of interest to the reporter. Various beats include legal reporting,
parliamentary reporting, political reporting, etc. Ageneral assignment
reporter, on the other hand, covers any story assigned by the city editor or
assistant city editor.
Chief
copy editor- The chief copy editor is in charge of the newspaper's copydesk.
The people on the copydesk read news stories (and sometimes stories from other
sections) to make sure they are written according to the newspaper's standards.
The chief copy editor makes final decisions about the copy and is in charge of
the staffing of the desk.
Copy
editor- A copy editor is specially trained to read the stories that others have
written and make sure they conform with the rules of grammar and style. A copy
editor also writes headlines and performs other duties that help produce the
newspaper every day.
Photo
editor- A photo editor is not a photographer, although it is often the case
that the photo editor is a former photographer. This editor assigns
photographers and helps select the photos that the newspaper prints.
Graphics
editor- The graphics editor is the head of the graphics department, sometimes
called the "art department." This editor is in charge of all of the
graphics and illustrations produced for the newspaper.
Graphics
reporter- A graphics reporter researches and designs informational graphics
that support news stories the paper. A graphics reporter is an expert in
graphic forms and also must be able to local information that can be used to
build graphics.
ADVERTISEMENT DEPARTMENT
As
an integral mass media vehicle, newspapers are vehicles of advertising meant to
appeal to their readers. As such, the advertising department is the one which
is critical because it gets in the revenue necessary to sustain the
newspaper.Getting in revenue through advertising for the newspaper happens
through various means. There can be several sections in this department one to
look after local advertising, one for classified ads, one for general /
national advertising, one for legal advertising and yet another one for
preparing copy and so on. For example, there is a complete sales team in place,
whose job it is to push the newspaper as an advertising vehicle of choice to
advertising and media buying agencies acting on behalf of clients, as well as
clients.
The
Advertising department will accept and process orders from advertisers, to book
space in the newspapers, as well as create ads, give agencies statistics and
information about the circulation and readership of the newspaper as well, as
well as work with the editorial teams to createspace, the department carries
out a number of functions, including accepting and processing orders from
advertisers, creating advertisements, providing media information to
advertisers and advertising agencies, helping businesses develop advertising
plans and working with editorial teams to develop features that will attract
advertisers or help clients place their products with a coordinated editorial
write up.
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
The
circulation department takes care of everything after the newspaper is printed.
This includes delivering the publication to homes through their own or
third-party carriers, to the post office to be mailed into homes, as well as to
newsstands, vending machines, and other places it's circulated.
It
is usually headed by a major executive, the circulation manager, since the newspaper
ultimately stands or falls on the basis of the number of steady readers that
can be enrolled.
The
circulation manager may have any or all of the following subdivisions under his
supervision:
(i)
City Circulation:It involves the maintenance of circulation records for the
city of publication; the recruitment, supervision and reimbursement of carrier
boys; the: supervision of district men who oversee circulation by subdivisions
of the city, taking responsibility for moving papers to the news-stands, relations
with news-stand operators, etc.
(ii)
Area Circulation:Responsibilities here include getting papers destined for the
surrounding area into the mail and operation of a fleet of tempos/taxis to
carry the papers into surrounding areas where mail service is not rapid
enough.The circulation manager is also in charge of moving the papers into the
appropriate distribution channels as they move into the mailing room from the
press room.
(iii)
Sales Promotion:It involves the direction of an office staff to keep records,
notifying subscribers when their subscrip¬tions need renewing, the handling of
complaints, new subscriptions and renewals over the counter, by mail, etc.
Promotion
is essentially the "public relations" department of the newspaper.
Where a separate promotion department exists, it usually is responsible for
initiating promotion policies, subject to the approval of the publisher, and
usually coordinates the promotional activities of other departments.
PRINTING DEPARTMENT
This
is another department in a newspaper establishment whose name simply tells
people the job that they perform. This department is responsible for the
printing of the newspapers. The department is in charge of everything that has
to do with the production and printing of the papers, which includes,
transforming journalists’ stories into type and maintaining the printing
machines.
ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT
This
department is responsible for the general administration of the entire
establishment. The department is in charge of certain very important duties
such as planning, organizing and staffing.Thus, the department basically looks
after the general administrative work pertaining to personnel their selection,
training, promotion, allotment of work, maintaining leave record, liaison with
government departments, general facilities and all such work that facilitates
working of other departments. In the absence of a separate legal department the
administrative department also handles the work pertaining to legal matters.
Otherwise there is a separate department for the legal aspects.
STORES DEPARTMENT
This
is a department that has one sole responsibility which is to properly store
newsprint and all the raw materials used for printing. They also store all
other materials that are used in the establishment.
IT DEPARTMENT
This
department is in charge of protecting, maintaining, and improving the technical
equipment associated with running a media outlet. Engineers/technicians spend
some of their time on preventive maintenance and trying to keep equipment from
breaking and much more of their time fixing equipment that has already broken.
This last job is especially important, considering that the high cost of new
technology makes it difficult to replace equipment. Like the
production/printing department, this department is not a part of the news
department but still plays an important part in the newscast.
This
department is mostly headed by the Chief Engineer. He/She is responsible for
all operations and maintenance that has to do with any and all engineering
equipment used throughout the organization. Chief engineer has to manage and
maintain complex integrated systems with minimum supervision and maintain and
repair of all technical equipment in the organization. This position requires
the ability to troubleshoot, diagnose and handle the tools necessary to repair
newsroom equipment and effectively present information and respond to question
from managers, clients, customers and public. A solid working knowledge of the
latest gadgets, computers, hardware, parts and related software with practical
knowledge of electrical, plumbing and basic construction techniques is helpful.
Chief Engineer presides over ground-keeping technician.
