- Photographers and reporters, who gather and write up stories based on the news
- Editors, who prepare news stories and photographs for publication
The duties of Newspaper Reporter: In my previously published article entitled: News reporter Important Element That Makes News, I had described a short account regarding the jobs of newspaper reporter. In addition to them, a newspaper reporter does not only cover events such as plane crashes, murders or fires. Interviews with individuals who shape events or explanations of a news event are other example of the type of news writing a reporter may do. And whatever the type of news a reporter is covering, his story must answer the 5 "W's":
- what is occurring
- who is involved
- where is it happening
- when is it happening
- why is it happening
A general assignment reporter may cover a series of court cases at the court house one day and a series of fires or traffic accidents the next day. General assignment is where most new reporter will start his career at a newspaper. This gives the novice feel for the variety of news events that make up the newspaper.
Beat reporter will cover the same news source day in and day out: city hall, local legislature, or the local sports team are some examples. Beat reporter is expected to keep his editor apprised of all important events involving his beat.
Newspaper Editors are classified according to newspaper office activities. There is Copy Editor, City Editor, News Editor, Photo Editor and the Managing Editor.
The copy editor guards against inaccuracies by checking every fact and name mentioned in the story - virtually every word in a news story. He/she helps to make news writing readable by breaking up long sentences. He helps ensure the fairness of news stories by seeing to it that each side in a controversy gets to air its side of the story. He also improve the style of news stories by toning them down or by cutting strong adjectives and replacing strong verbs with milder one.
The jobs of City Editor: He is in charge of the reporter who covers local news. He assigns reporter to beats and stories occurring within the city in which the paper is published. He also determines on which page and where on the page each story will be printed and the size of each headline.
The jobs of News Editor: He is in charge of all news outside the city editor's area of responsibility. On a typical newspaper this would include local, national and international news. He is also responsible for sifting through the news that comes to the paper from agencies such as Reuters, Associated Press and so on. He also determines how all the news pages of the newspaper will be laid out and decides what will appear on the first page of the paper.
The jobs of Photo Editor: He is responsible for the staff of photographers at a newspaper. He assigns photographers to cover stories and decides which pictures will be printed.
The jobs of Managing Editor: He is at the top of the ladder in most newspaper offices. The managing editor's basic role is to provide direction to the newspaper by selecting what news will be covered and what news is most important.
The working conditions at a newspaper office can be as varied as the city, town or province in which the paper is located. Much depends on the size of the newspaper, its management and budget, and whether employees are unionized or not. In general, a journalist's working day can be relatively long, ranging from 48 to 60 hours per week. Also, a journalist's working day is not the conventional 9 to 5, since news events can occur at any time of day or night.