AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER · AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER LEARNING STANDARDS:skimming and scanning. Here is a look at how a story might get to you from where it actually

AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER

Every day, in communities largeand small, something almostmagical happens. Newspapers

appear on doorsteps, in racks and instores, and almost no one sees howthey get there.

Events happen nearby and far away. Theinformation is reported and delivered toreaders everywhere. How does this work?It’s a step-by-step process. Once youunderstand what goes into producing anewspaper, you’ll see just howfascinating it all is.

The most important function of anewspaper is to provide people withinformation about local, national andworld events. While that information maybe important, it isn’t the only informationnewspapers provide.

Newspapers also include lots of practicaland useful information. They entertain uswith comic strips and funny human-interest stories. They challenge us withword puzzles, and they point us in theright direction so we can make informeddecisions when we shop and when wevote.

Newspapers help us to understandevents large and small by giving usdetailed background information so thatwe can put what we read into the contextof our lives. They educate us with specialfeatures and stories for young people.Newspapers print a combination of whatwe need to know and what we want toknow.

Newspapers give usall of this for justpennies a day!

Newspapers have been bringing us newsand information longer than any othermedia form. Before there werecomputers, there were newspapers.Before there were televisions or radios,there were newspapers. Before therewere telephones and telegraph wires,there were newspapers.

Newspapers are now and always havebeen equal-opportunity vehicles. Theyhave always been the most inexpensiveway for people to get news andadvertising information. They have alwaysbeen user-friendly, so people cannavigate easily between the sections,reading only what interests them.

They have shelf life, too. If you don’t havetime to read your newspaper now, youcan put it down and pick it up later. Noneof the information disappears.

Newspapers are portable. The printeditions are easily folded and can becarried from place to place to readanywhere, even on planes and trainswhile traveling. You could say thatnewspapers were the original “laptop”news delivery service. And speaking oflaptops, many newspapers are online andcan be accessed and read all over theworld, wherever computers are available.

This special section describes how atypical newspaper is put together anddelivered. Of course, not everynewspaper operates the same way, butthis will give you insight into how it allcomes together – every day.

2 NEWSPAPERS Inspire Enlighten

Newspapers Deliver

and

What Is News? News is hard to define. One definition says that something isnews if it has “the quality of being sufficiently interesting to bereported in news bulletins.” Of course, that is a pretty broad area.News might be anything from a natural disaster to a humanachievement or failure – or even something that is just so odd andfunny it makes the news.

News also has been defined this way: When dog bites man, it’snot news; when man bites dog, it is. Can you see the difference?Talk about it with your class or your family.

As you read the newspaper, you might wonder why certain storiesare in the news and why some of those are on the front page.Each day, editors decide which stories to include and which toplace on page one.

Stories get into thenewspaper for lots ofdifferent reasons.Choose a story fromtoday’s front page, andanalyze it for each of thefollowing reasons. You may want to dosome Internet research to help you investigate further and answer each question about the story.

Headline of your chosen story: ______________________________________________________

Timeliness: Is it happening right now?______________________________________________________

Relevance: Is it of local interest?______________________________________________________

Magnitude: Is it a story that affects a great number of people?______________________________________________________

Unexpectedness: Is it unusual, or did it happen without warning?______________________________________________________

Conflict: Does the story involve a major struggle?______________________________________________________

Continuity: Is the story following up on an earlier story?______________________________________________________

Emotion: Are emotion such as fear, jealousy, love and hateinvolved?

______________________________________________________

Progress: Is it a story of new hope or achievement? ______________________________________________________

3

Get to know your newspaper by going on a scavenger huntto find each of these items. Write the page number onwhich you found each one.

Index __________A help-wanted ad __________A photo of a politician __________An example of good news __________A funny comic strip __________A display ad for clothing __________The name of a foreign country __________The weather report __________


LEARNING STANDARDS: skimming and scanning

Here is a look at how a storymight get to you from whereit actually happened. Of

course, this is different at everynewspaper. News productiondepends on the size of thenewspaper and where it is located,but this will give you insight intohow a typical news story reachesreaders.

Imagine that an event occurs. Perhapssomeone has just rescued a child froma burning building. This didn’t happenright outside your door, so how will youlearn about it?

Most likely, someone at the newspaperfinds out about it. Perhaps a reporter ismonitoring local news or listening tothe emergency services scanner. Onceshe knows about the event, thereporter goes there to see exactly whatis happening.

Reporters write the news as theyobserve it. Some reporters areassigned a particular “beat,” or area ofspecialization. Beats may begeographic or topical. Reporters maycover the county courthouse or theschools. They may be assigned tofollow police stories, a particular townor part of town.

The reason why reporters have beats isso that each person can become anexpert on that type of story or thatplace. That way, reporters learn how toask good questions and how to putstories from their beats intoperspective for readers.

Others are “general assignment”reporters. They might be called upon tocover a wide variety of stories.Sometimes, reporters shift betweenbeats and general assignment,depending on what is taking place thatday.

When something happens, the assignedreporter goes to the scene of the event.Upon arriving, the reporter observescarefully, taking notes on what he seesand asking questions of the peoplethere. He is probably “on deadline,” sohe must work quickly. (Reporters ondeadline must write their stories by acertain time in order for them to appearin the next day’s newspaper.) The storytravels from the mind and hands of thereporter to the keyboard and throughthe newspaper’s computer system untilit ends up in print and online.

After the reporter finishes writing, thestory goes to an editor. All reporterswork with an editor. Thenumber and types ofeditors anewspaper hasdepend on itscirculationsize.

A newspaper might have an executiveeditor, who is responsible for the entirenews division. Next, there may be amanaging editor, who oversees the day-to-day production of the newspaper.Other departmental editors, such asthose in charge of national news,sports, business and features, report tothe managing editor.

At many newspapers, the best-knowneditor is the city editor. This is theperson who assigns stories and may bethe first to read them after thereporters write them. The city editormay decide whether the angle of thestory is correct and whether the storyis newsworthy.

The next stop in the story’s journey isthe copy desk. A copy editor,responsible for checking grammar andspelling, reads the story. He looks for“holes” or gaps in the information. It’simportant that a news story doesn’tleave readers with too many unansweredquestions. It’s the copy editor’s job tomake sure that doesn’t happen. Hechecks facts, often using thenewspaper’s comprehensive library ofresearch materials. Headlines are addedto the story, giving readers a briefsummary of the article’s main point.

4 NEWSPAPERS Inspire Enlightenand

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Gathering News

Edited stories are added tostories from news wire services.News wires electronicallytransmit editorial content from avariety of outside sources tonewspapers that subscribe tothis service. Wire services arevital because newspaperscannot possibly have reporterseverywhere in the world. Fromwire services, newspapersobtain stories they might nototherwise be able to get.

Editors also choose photosand/or illustrations to run withthe articles. All of the articles,photos, illustrations and ads thatgo into the newspaper must belaid out, or “paginated.”

Page layouts are done bycomputer with software createdespecially for publishing andgraphic design. You might thinkthat newspapers use specialindustry software for designingpages, but in fact, many use thesame software that anyonemight use for this purpose.


LEARNING STANDARDS: generating questions

In order to write a good story, a reporter must ask probing questions. Choose an articlefrom the newspaper. Read it carefully. Jot down at least five questions you think the reporterwho wrote it may have asked.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there anything else you would have asked if you had been the reporter? What online sitesmight you have checked for more information to add to this report?

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No two newspapers are exactlyalike. A newspaper reflects itscommunity. What the

newspaper looks like, then, dependson where it is and what is importantto its community. The communityessentially “builds” its newspaperbased on its values.

Sections vary from newspaper tonewspaper. Most newspapers havesections for local news, national newsand international news to tell readerswhat is currently happening. Mostnewspapers have a features section thatinforms readers about the day-to-day lifeof the community. There, readers findhuman-interest stories and informationabout upcoming events. While the newssections deal mostly with facts, thefeatures section offers a perspectivebeyond just the facts.

Most newspapers also have a sportssection, in which readers can follow theirfavorite teams locally and beyond. Youmight find a food section in yournewspaper, with recipes as well as adsfor local supermarkets.

All of these sections allow readers tocustomize their newspaper readingexperience. They can choose to readwhat interests them. The sections alsogive advertisers the power to reach theaudience they most want.

Here’s an example. A 2006 report fromthe Newspaper Association of America(NAA) shows that of women in the top50 newspaper markets, 86 percent readthe main news section. But only 45percent of the women read the sportssection. If you were promoting a productfor women, then wouldn’t you want toplace your ad in the news section, wheremore women would be likely to see it?

What do you think is the most widelyread section of the newspaper? Thesame NAA report reveals that it’s mainnews with 86 percent of all adultreaders, followed by local news with 83percent.


LEARNING STANDARDS: gathering data, graphing

Survey your classmates or your family to find out which sections of thenewspaper are everyone’s favorites. Make a graph of the results. If youwere going to add a new section to the newspaper, what would it be?Why? Which section do you think young people read most often?

Go online to find out about newspapers that have special sections writtenfor or by young people (www.nichevoyager.com is a great place to start).Write a report telling what you learned about these sections. Do you thinkthey are a good idea?

Newspaper Sections

Not everything ina newspaper isnews. Some

content featurespeople’s opinions aboutthe news. Readers canfind some of theseopinions on theeditorial pages. Thosepages often haveeditors who are differentfrom the editors who workon the news sections. Thatis so news and opinionsare never confused. It’svery important thatreaders understand thedifference between newsand opinions.

Editorials are columns thattell readers what the editorialboard thinks about the newsand issues of the day. Thatboard is made up of editorswho work on the editorialpages. Their names usuallyare printed on those pages,but their columns – theeditorials – are not usuallysigned. They are there to tellreaders what the boardthinks as a group, not justthe opinion of any onemember.

Readers, too, have theopportunity to say what theythink on these pages. Lettersto the editor are exactly that– letters that readers write togive their opinions about thenews or current issues.Some newspapers limit thenumber of words allowed inthese letters, while othersprint letters regardless oflength.

Op-ed articles are found, asthe name indicates, on thepage opposite the editorialpage. These columns are likeletters to the editor, butthey’re longer and containmore depth. Some news-papers pay writers for theircontributions to the op-edpage. Some people writethem not so much for thepay, but rather to have agood platform to tell peoplewhat they think.

7AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER

LEARNING STANDARDS: categorizing, skimming, analyzing, ranking

Turn to the editorial pages of your newspaper. Read the letters to the editor and categorize them bytopic. Count the number of topics. Then rank those topics in order of importance to you, with “1”being the most important. If there are five topics total, you’ll rank them from 1 to 5.

1. ____________________________________2. ____________________________________3.____________________________________4.____________________________________5. ____________________________________

Editorial Pages

In 1972, when I was a youngreporter working in Philadelphia,a terrible storm descended on

Pennsylvania in late June.As Tropical Storm Agnes settled

over the state, rain fell for days anddays. Rivers swelled and started tooverflow their banks.

Volunteers rushed to theriverbanks and stacked sandbags tostop the rivers from flooding. Still, therains came.

On this particular Friday night, Iwas on the telephone for hours, takingcalls from reporters in other towns inthe state, using the facts they told meto write a story about the flood.

Finally, I got a call from a reporterin Wilkes-Barre – a town along thebanks of the Susquehanna River, about110 miles north of Philadelphia.

He was telling me about effortsto halt the Susquehanna fromflooding his city, but he stopped inthe middle of a sentence.

He said: “I’m sorry. I have togo now.”

I asked: “How can you stopnow? You’re in the middle of tellingme what’s going on.”

He replied: “The water is cominginto the office, and I’ve been told toleave.”

It was 3 a.m. when I finished mystory. I went home and fell into mybed. At 6 a.m., the phone rang. It wasmy boss.

He said, “Go out and rent a car. Ineed you to go to Wilkes-Barre now.The whole town is under water.”

Three hours later, I was standingon a hillside looking at downtownWilkes-Barre, all of it covered in mud-brown water that reached tothe second floor of most buildings.

The air reeked of smoke from firesthat had broken out in the city. It washard to hear because of the racketmade by National Guard rescuehelicopters hovering overhead. A policecrew was on the riverbank, trying toretrieve what looked like the body of achild from the floodwaters. It turnedout to be a mannequin.

I was in the middle of one ofthe biggest stories of theyear. I couldn’t havebeen happier.

It may sound odd to say that, but Iwas happy. Reporters live for thesemoments – to be present at the bigstory, to witness and to write a pieceof history.

My job as a newspaper reporterhas put me in the center of action timeand time again. I have covered trainwrecks and airplane crashes. I haveinterviewed presidents and governors,mayors and U.S. senators. (I’ve eveninvestigated a few of them.)

I’ve covered Penn State footballgames and conducted interviews in thedugouts of baseball stadiums. I havebeen in court when judges weresentencing men to death for murder. Ihave been in churches for the funeralsof children killed by gunfire in thestreets.

8

From the Reporter’s DeskBy Tom Ferrick Jr.

NEWSPAPERS Inspire Enlightenand

I have witnessed the triumphand tragedy of everyday life for morethan 30 years, and I have enjoyednearly every minute of it. Few otherjobs can offer the excitement ofreporting – nor the variety ofexperiences.

Ask most reporters and theywill tell you that they look forward togoing to work every day. How manyother workers can say that?

Reporters know that whensomething exciting or interesting islikely to happen, they will be part ofit as observers, taking notes aboutwhat they see and writing about itfor their newspapers.

When I started as a reporter,we wrote on typewriters. We had nocell phones. No one had inventedportable computers yet, let alone theInternet.

Today, we use all of these toolsin our jobs, but the task remains thesame: Reporters collect facts. Weassemble them into stories. Thestories are printed in newspapersthat go to hundreds of thousands of

readers each day.Would you like to be a

reporter? Let me tell youwhat traits you will

need.

First, you must be inquisitive.You have to want to know howthings work. You have to be willing toask questions.

Reporting involves a lot ofresearch – doing interviews, readingbackground articles and looking upgovernment records. We call itdigging. It can be hard work.

Second, you must be a goodwriter. Notice that I did not say afancy writer. You don’t have to be aShakespeare. Your writing must beclear, brief and to the point.

May I tell you a secret? It ismuch harder to write short and clearstories than it is to write long andflowery ones. I know. I’ve writtenboth.

Third, you must be able toreport and write quickly. Mostnewspapers publish every day. Theylike to get the paper on thedoorsteps of their customers by 6 a.m. To accomplish this, everyone– from reporter to editor to printerto delivery person – must do theirjobs on time.

When the deadline comes, thestory must be done. No excuses. Itisn’t always a rush, but sometimesyou must write your story in a shortperiod of time. The shortest period Iever had was 10 minutes. Could youwrite a story of 500 words in 10minutes? I still don’t know how I did it.

Don’t worry. No one expectsyou to be able to do all of this yourfirst day on the job. It takes years toperfect the craft of writing andreporting.

One more thing: Don’t worry ifyou are shy. Many reporters I knoware shy. But shy people are oftengood observers, and keenobservation is important inreporting.

There are times when being areporter is boring. You go to cover aspeech, and the speaker drones onand on. You sit in a city councilsession, where the council memberstalk and talk but never get anythingdone. You sit in police headquarters,listening to the police radio, but itturns out to be one of those nightswhen nothing is happening.

But then the sirens sound orthe rivers overflow their banks or thepresident comes to town, and yougrab your notebook and head to thebig story.

Many kids your age don’t readnewspapers. They get their newsfrom television or the Internet. I wishit weren’t so, but that’s a fact.

Because of this, some expertsthink that newspapers may be goingthe way of the dodo bird and aredoomed for extinction.

I don’t think so, but even if itcomes to pass, there still will benews to cover and we still will needreporters to cover it.

They may publish their storieson a Web page instead of on paper,but it will still be a story and they willstill be reporters.

Maybe you can be one of them.

Tom Ferrick Jr. is a metro columnistfor The Philadelphia Inquirer. Arecipient of numerous journalismawards, he was a member of a staffthat won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.


Americans generate millionsof tons of trash each year.The trash builds up in giant

landfills, and that’s bad for ourenvironment.

Part of that trash is newspapers. Oneway to help reduce the amount of trashcreated by newspapers is to recyclethem after they are read.

Making paper fromrecovered orrecycled items isnot a new idea.Raw materialsused by theancient Chinese,who pioneeredpapermaking, includedfiber from rags. Today,recycled newsprint is most commonlyused to make fresh newsprint, eggcartons and paperboard.

When recycled newsprint is used,fewer trees have to be cut down tomake paper and that is good news forthe environment. Also, for every ton ofpaper (not just newspaper but anypaper) that is recycled, 3.3 cubic yardsof landfill space are saved.

Paper RecyclingFactsIt’s estimated that 500,000 treesmust be cut down to produce eachweek’s Sunday newspapers.

Recycling a single edition of a largenewspaper, such as the Sunday NewYork Times, saves 75,000 trees.

If we recycled all of our newspapers,we could save about 250 million

trees each year.

If we recycled just one-tenth ofour newspapers, we would saveabout 25 million trees a year.

One ton of recycled paper (all paper,not just newsprint) uses 64 percentless energy and 50 percent less water,causes 74 percent less air pollution,saves 17 trees and creates five timesmore jobs, compared to one ton ofpaper products made from virgin woodpulp.

According to the American Forest andPaper Association, 51.5 percent of thepaper consumed in the United Stateswas recycled in 2005. The paperindustry’s goal is for 55 percent of allpaper to be recycled by 2012.

Where Does It Go? More than 85 percent of U.S. residentslive in communities with recycling.Some have curbside collection ofrecyclables, while others have drop-offpoints where people can leave theirrecyclables.

Once collected, paper goes to arecycling center or recovery facility forremoval of things such as glass, paperclips, staples and plastics. Then it isbaled and sent to a paper mill, where itis shredded and mixed with water tomake a pulp. The pulp is washed, refinedand cleaned, then beaten into a slush,which is pumped onto a large movingscreen. Water drains as the screenmoves, leaving behind a paper sheet.Rollers press the paper sheet to removeany remaining water and make the papersmooth and even. The finished paper isthen wound onto huge spools or rolls.

Of course, no matter how muchnewsprint is recycled, new trees stillare needed to make fresh newsprint.Paper cannot be recycled foreverbecause the fibers deteriorate eachtime they go through the papermakingprocess. But the more we recycle, thefewer trees we have to use each year.


Good News for the Environment

LEARNING STANDARDS: analyzing current events

Can you find a story in your newspaper that deals with theenvironment? Summarize it. Do you think theenvironment is an important issue for politicians to dealwith? Why? Do you think there should be more or lessnewspaper attention devoted to the environment? Why?

If you want to find out more about recyclingin your community, visit www.earth911.org

and type in your ZIP code.

Newspapers would not exist if they didn’t haveadvertising. The average price of a dailynewspaper would be at least $5 if readers had to

pay the full cost of producing a newspaper. The reasonthey don’t is that advertisers pay most of the cost.

In fact, advertising is so important that ads determine how bigthe newspaper is each day. You might have thought that theamount of news determines how many pages are producedeach day, but it’s the number of ads. Of course, on a daywhen a major news story breaks, more pages can be added.Otherwise, the size of the newspaper depends on the amountof advertising. And in most papers, there is actually slightlymore advertising than there is news.

The ads are placed in the paper first. The space left for newsis called the “news hole.”

Advertising in the newspaper is divided into two types – retailand classified. The classified ads, sometimes called “wantads,” are the ones placed by those who seek to buy or sellsomething, or to find jobs or hire people for jobs. Customersplace those ads and pay for them, usually by the word or line.

Retail ads are the larger “display” ads that appear throughoutthe paper. They promote stores or businesses. Retail ads aretruly part of the backbone of the newspaper, because the feesthat the newspaper charges for those ads covers much of thecost associated with producing the newspaper.

Many newspapers have a third type of advertising, called“inserts.” These are often colorful booklets that are folded inwith the rest of the newspaper. Inserts are usually paid for bynational chain stores, such as Target and Sears. They are notprinted with the newspaper, but are simply added to it.

Ads appear in newspapers in much the same way thatcommercials appear on television or on the radio. Whilebroadcast channels (not cable or satellite) come to your homefree of charge, commercials cover the cost of theprogramming so you don’t have to pay for it. Withnewspapers, advertisers cover part of the production cost sothat you don’t have to pay as much for your newspaper.

In newspapers both large and small, a strict line is drawnbetween the editorial department (editorial meaningeverything in the newspaper that’s not advertising) and theadvertising department. It’s vital for advertising and editorialto keep from controlling each other’s content.

If a local advertiser – a car dealer, for example – is accused ofa crime, it would be wrong if the advertising staff told thenews staff not to write about that person just because he isan important advertiser. News people must always beobjective and avoid taking sides.


‘Ad’ It Up

LEARNING STANDARDS: problem-solving, working with equations

Working with a partner, examine a section of thenewspaper. Figure out a way to measure the amount ofspace devoted to advertising and the amount devoted toeditorial content for the entire newspaper.

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Most newspapers todayuse some kind of offsetprinting. That means

that the page image is etchedonto a thin plate that is mountedon the printing press. The inkedimage is then transferred onto arubber roller that sends theimage onto paper. It’s calledoffset because the printing platedoesn’t actually touch the paper.Most inks are made of vegetableoils, such as soy.

Newspaper printingpresses are huge –almost threestories tall. Theyare complicatedand expensivemachines that cancost as much as$40 million. That’swhy they requirespecially trained

people – press operators. Pressesare extremely noisy, too, and thepeople who work in the pressroommust protect their ears fromdamage.

Although these “web presses” areenormous (they’re called webpresses because the paper feedsthrough on rolls, not in singlesheets), they are gentle giants in away. Newsprint, the paper on whichnewspapers are printed, is a thinand fairly low-quality form of paper.It comes on huge rolls, though, andthose rolls must feed through thepresses without being torn. That’swhy the presses must be gentlewhile at the same time powerfulenough to do the job.

That job includes printing the entirepaper at once with the pages in theright order, while separating it into

sections and folding it. And thepresses are very fast. One presscan print up to 70,000 copies in anhour.

After the newspaper is printed, itheads to the mailroom. Nowadays,the mailroom has nothing to dowith mail. But once upon a time,newspapers were sent by post, andthat’s where the mailroom got itsname. Today, the mailroom isresponsible for making sure thenewspapers are assembledcorrectly and labeled to go on theright trucks so that they get to theright homes and newsstands.

Like the pressroom, the mailroomis complex. It containssophisticated machinery thatefficiently gets the right edition ofthe newspaper headed to the rightplaces. More and more today,newspapers print different editionsbased on the time of day and thedestination.

Big-city newspapers can have earlyeditions, late editions and “zoned”editions specially targeted tovarious areas of the city and thesuburbs. A newspaper can changeoften during the day. Even the adsand inserts may change, dependingon where that edition of thenewspaper will be delivered.

All of this is figured out in the mailroom, so that newspapers are bundled and put on the correct trucks to get them where they need to go.

Once newspapers are bundled and labeled, they continue on to their final destination. Some go on trucks to newsstands for people to buy. Others are paid for by independent carriers, who then deliver them to homes and charge subscribers for delivery. Still others are placedinto boxes, where people can insert“smart cards” or cash to pay fortheir newspapers.

And of course,newspapers aredeliveredelectronically.Millions of peopleread newspapersonline each dayand neveractually touchnewsprint.

Whether it is electronicor in print, the newspaper hits itsmark each day. And every day ithappens all over again, all over theworld.


Printing and Delivering the News

LEARNING STANDARDS: conducting online research, summarizing

Go online to find out about the history of the printing press. Write a brief summary of what you learned.


Newspaper History

LEARNING STANDARDS: essay writing

Look carefully through today’s newspaper, and write anessay about the importance of newspapers to our society.Support your argument with details from today’s newspaper.

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You’ve probably heardof Count Dracula. Youmay think of him as a

vampire, which he wasn’t. Youprobably don’t think of him as anhistoric figure in the newspaperindustry, but in a way, he was.

Very early newspapers circulatingaround Germany in the late 1400sfeatured reports about a cruel manfrom Transylvania. His name was VladTsepes Drakul, or Count Dracula. Thosefirst accounts of him may have beenexaggerated a bit, but they werepassed along and eventually becamepart of the folklore. So, Count Draculawas among the first people to bewritten about in a newspaper.

The earliest “newspapers” weren’tanything like today’s newspapers. Theywere handwritten circulars largelyproduced and distributed bymerchants, with all sorts of informationabout wars, the economy andscandalous stories of the day. Well, onsecond thought, maybe they were liketoday’s newspapers.

In the English-speaking world, the firstreal newspaper was the LondonGazette in 1666. Publick Occurrences,

the first newspaper in whatbecame the United States,

was published in Bostonin 1690 without

authority. The manresponsible wasarrested and allcopies weredestroyed.

In 1704, postmaster John Campbelllaunched the Boston News-Letter withthe help of the colonial government.

Two more newspapers debuted inPhiladelphia and New York in the1720s. By the beginning of theRevolutionary War, about two dozennewspapers were being printed in thecolonies. It is likely that the informationpublished in those newspapers inspiredmany of the colonists to break fromEngland and fight for independence. Inthat sense, you might say that ourAmerican democracy was born as aresult of the newspaper industry.

Only after the Bill of Rights was ratifiedin 1791 was freedom of the pressguaranteed. Freedom of the pressallows the news media – newspapers,magazines, Web sites, television andradio – to report without fear of beingpunished. The government cannot tellthe news media what to print. Butfreedom of the press also means thatthe news media cannot publish thingsthat aren’t true.

Freedom of the press enables the newsmedia to protect people. It is said thatthe news media are like watchdogs forthe public: They watch what thegovernment does, and they make surethe government is honest.

What do you think might happen if thegovernment didn’t allow a free press?What if the government ran news-papers and the other news media?There are totalitarian societies thatallow only newspapers that are run,owned or approved by the government.Would you want to live in a society likethat? Why or why not?

“A newspaper is acirculating library withhigh blood pressure.”

Arthur Baer

“A job on a newspaper is a specialthing. Every day, you take

something that you found outabout, and you put it down, andin a matter of hours it becomes

a product. Not just a product likea can or something. It is a

personal product that people, a lotof people, take the time to sit down

and read.” Jimmy Breslin

“The newspaper fits the reader’sprogram while the listener mustfit the broadcaster’s program.”

Kingman Brewster

“A newspapershould be themaximum of

information andthe minimum of

comment.” Richard Cobden

“It is the advertiserwho provides the

paper for thesubscriber. It is not tobe disputed that the

publisher of a newspaper inthis country, without a very exhaustiveadvertising support, would receive lessreward for his labor than the humblest

mechanic.” Alexander Hamilton

“The fact that a man is anewspaper reporter is

evidence of someflaw of character.” Lyndon B. Johnson

“There is an urgent need for Americansto look deeply into themselves and theiractions, and musical poetry is perhaps

the most effective mirror available.Every newspaperheadline is a

potential song.” Phil Ochs

“More than one day Iread a newspaperfrom page one on

through to theback page, every

story. I likedespecially themurders, the

robberies, the divorces,the political squabbles.”

Carl Sandburg

“You can never getall the facts from

just one newspaper,and unless you have

all the facts, youcannot make proper

judgments about what isgoing on.”

Harry S. Truman

“Were it left to me todecide whether we

should have agovernment without

newspapers, ornewspapers withouta government, I shouldnot hesitate a moment to

prefer the latter.”Thomas Jefferson

“Fifty percent of peoplewon’t vote, and 50percent don’t readnewspapers. I hope

it’s the same 50percent.”Gore Vidal


Notable Newspaper Quotations

In the more than 300 years that we have had newspapers in the United States, much has been said about them. Some of it is good andsome of it is not so good, but it is all interesting. Read these quotes

about newspapers and choose one with which you agree and one withwhich you disagree. Write about your choices.

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LEARNING STANDARDS: examining career opportunities

Newspapers offer a vast variety of career choices. If you are agood communicator or a talented graphic artist, are organized ora creative thinker, chances are that there may be a place for yousomewhere in the newspaper industry. Here is a look at some ofthe departments and the types of jobs each offers. Maybe youcan match your skills with one of these interesting careers.


Look at the help-wanted ads in the newspaper and circle fivejobs that you think you might someday be interested inhaving. Do some online research to find out more abouteach one. Then write a cover letter to one of the potentialemployers telling him or her about yourself and why you’dbe good at the job.

Careers in Newspapers

InformationTechnology (IT)This department monitors the newspaper’s computer

systems. Programmers might create databases for a

variety of newspaper functions. People in IT

have backgrounds in managing information

systems. Positions in newspaper IT

include developer, project

manager, network operator,

application designer or

technology

trainer.

Advert i s ingAdvertising sales professionals help clients

develop ad campaigns to reach their target markets.Successful ad representatives are high-energy, creative people

who are good communicators. Positions in newspaper advertisinginclude account manager and representative for retail,

classified and national customers. The ad department alsomay also include graphic artists and copywriters.

EditorialNews professionals cover the day-to-day aspect of local, national and internationalevents. Talented people in this area are curious and smart. They must be able to functionwell on a deadline. Positions in the newsroom include editors, graphic artists, pagedesigners, copy editors, reporters, photographers, editorial cartoonists and researchers.

Circulation/MarketingThe circulation department is responsible for distribution,marketing and customer service. These are the people whobring the newspaper to subscribers through home delivery, ata newsstand, in a stand-alone box or at a convenience store.

Circulation professionals find ways to promote newspapersales. Jobs in this area require good presentation skills andthe ability to work creatively in a high-pressure situation tomeet goals on time. Positions in newspaper circulationinclude delivery contractor, district manager, sales andmarketing manager, home-delivery manager and single-copymanager, among others. If you think you might enjoydeveloping creative ways to increase newspaper sales, this

may be a good option for you.

ProductionThis department produces the print

form of the newspaper, from prepress

(page layout and imaging) to assembly.

Press operators make the printing plates and

run the printing press, while packagers

assemble and bundle the newspapers. This

department includes entry-level positions as

well as jobs requiring extensive skill and

training. If you are mechanicallyinclined, this may be a good area

for you to consider.

FinanceNewspapers are businesses just like any other,and as such, there is money to be managed.Bills must be paid, payroll must be met, ledgersmust be balanced, profits must be invested,financial reports must be prepared, and so on.If you are good with figures and enjoy dealingwith money, you might fit in well with thisdepartment. There are clerical jobs requiringhigh school diplomas and higher-levelmanagement positions requiring collegedegrees. Positions in newspaper financeinclude accounts payable and accountsreceivable clerk, accounting supervisor ormanager, credit manager, staff accountant andassistant controller.

Digital MediaOnline publishing requires a varietyof skills, from writing and editing toprogramming and designing. Withpeople now getting their news froma vast array of electronic devices,the digital media field is growing allthe time. Positions in digital mediainclude reporter, editor, producer,graphic artist, businessdevelopment manager and accountexecutive. If you are innovative andinterested in technology, this maybe the place for you.

The NAA Foundation strives to develop engaged and literatecitizens in our diverse society through investment in andsupport of programs designed to enhance studentachievement through newspaper readership and appreciationof the First Amendment. The Foundation’s programs andproducts emphasize the use of newspapers and other mediaby young people. Foundation support is concentrated in three primary focus areas: Newspaper In Education, youthcontent and student newspapers. For information, visitwww.naafoundation.org.

Here is a glossary ofnewspaper words and terms.How many examples ofthese can you find in today’snewspaper?

The Associated Press (AP) – a cooperative, worldwidenewsgathering service.

Assignment – any newsgatheringtask given to a reporter.

Banner – a headline stretchingacross the top of a page.

Beat – a reporter’s regularassignment, such as city hall beat orpolice beat, or a geographic area.

Caption – text accompanying aphoto or illustration; also called acutline.

Circulation – the total number ofcopies of a publication distributedin one day.

Classified advertising – adsarranged according to the productor service advertised.

Display ad – advertising otherthan classifieds.

Ears – space at the top of thefront page on each side of thenewspaper’s name where weathernews, an index to pages orannouncements of specialfeatures appear.

Editorial – an article thatexpresses the opinion of thenewspaper’s editors.

First Amendment – the firstarticle of the Bill of Rights,guaranteeing U.S. residentsfreedom of religion, speech, press,assembly and petition.

Flag – the printed title of anewspaper at the top of the frontpage.

Gutter – the space or marginbetween facing pages, or thevertical space between any twocolumns of print.

Human interest story – a lighterstory, as opposed to a “hardnews” or “breaking news” story.

Index – the outline of thenewspaper’s contents.

Jump – to continue a story fromone page to another.

Kicker – small headline, often initalics.

Letter to the editor – a letter inwhich a reader expresses his orher views in the newspaper.

Masthead – a newspaper’sstatement of ownership, place ofpublication, executive personneland other information.

Newsprint – a grade of papersometimes made from recycledpaper and wood pulp, used forprinting newspapers.

Obit – a biography of a recentlydeceased person; short forobituary.

Op-ed – space for comment facing(opposite) the editorial page.

Publisher – the chief executive ofa newspaper.

Put to bed – a printer’s termmeaning that all the pages of anedition are completed and thepresses are ready to roll.

Quotes – the portion of a storythat shows exactly what a sourcetold the reporter.

Review – a writer’s criticalevaluation of an artistic event,such as a movie or play.

Scoop – an exclusive story orphotograph.

Sidebar – a secondary news storythat supports or amplifies a majorstory.

Subhead – a small, one-lineheadline inserted in the body of astory.

Tabloid – a newspaper of smallpage size.

Tip – information that may lead toa story.

United Press International (UPI) –a worldwide newsgatheringservice.

Wire copy – editorial contentsupplied by outside sources,transmitted across a wirenetwork.


Glossary of Terms

Senior Vice President & TreasurerMargaret Vassilikos

Vice PresidentJim Abbott

DirectorSandy Woodcock

EditorMarina Hendricks

Executive AssistantAudrey Kibler

CoordinatorSandy Andrade

Newspapers Inspire and Enlighten:An Inside Look at Your Newspaper

is produced by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) Foundation.

AuthorDebby Carroll

Copy Editor Ken Bookman

EditorMarina Hendricks

Art DirectorLinda Silk

Brecher Design Group

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AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER · AN INSIDE LOOK AT YOUR NEWSPAPER LEARNING STANDARDS:skimming and scanning. Here is a look at how a story might get to you from where it actually