Newspapers...

Formats, jargon and staff

Newspapers... They are everywhere, in many languages and many sizes too. If you are reading this article right now, in your favourite children's newspaper, the Junior Observer, that means you too, like millions of other people, invariably reach out for a newspaper to know the hot news about what's happening around you, and also to improve your knowledge on various topics as well as the language.

So, as newspapers are an integral (essential) part of your day-to-day lives today, we thought of giving you a brief description of what newspapers are, and the process of printing through our series 'Operation A-Z'.

As the newspaper industry (or the print media) is a very complex area we will try to enlighten you about at least the basics. Hope you enjoy reading about news papers and knowing how your favourite newspaper is published, to reach your hands every Sunday...

Before we look into the process of printing, let's look at some newspaper jargon, material used, the people involved and the different types of newspapers that are printed today.

Of course, all of you must be aware by now as to what a newspaper is; it is a publication which contains both local and foreign news, articles giving information on various topics, cartoons, crosswords, editorials, photographs and of course the advertisements which bring in the revenue for the continuity of the newspaper.

Now, we'll look into the different types of newspapers that are being printed today. You must be aware that some newspapers are rather small in size compared to others, and also that some newspapers are available on a weekly basis while others are there daily.

Well, the small papers are called tabloids, the larger ones are known as broadsheets and others are called Berlines or Midi. The broadsheets are considered the standard size newspapers.

Broadsheets are approximately 13-14 inches across and 21-22 or 23 inches high, while tabloids are 10-11 inches across and 14-18 inches high.

The newspapers that are published Monday through Saturday are called the 'dailies' and those that are published only once a week, most often on Sundays are weeklies. The Sunday Observer is a broadsheet, weekly newspaper.

Most broadsheet newspapers especially the weeklies, have various tabloids issued free with them, like the Junior Observer. However, your favourite children's paper is not just another children's tabloid that comes with the main paper like most other such tabloids. It is registered as a children's English newspaper in the country, like the popular Sinhala newspaper Mihira,which is also published by Lake House.

We do not need to go into detail about the various tabloids and broadsheets available in the market, but, one thing you must be aware of is that most countries have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the entire country, which is known as the national newspaper.

Newspaper establishments are either state owned (completely under government control) semi-government or privately owned. The owner of the newspaper is known as the publisher and printer. The person in charge of the newspaper is called the Editor or Editor-in-chief.

There are various departments involved in the running and printing of a newspaper, such as the Management, Editorial, Advertising, Production, the Press, Circulation and Dispatch, to name the main components. Then, there are sections such as the Graphics, Photo department, Data operations and various others that come into play, to print and deliver the newspapers to you.

The Editorial is headed by the Editor-in-chief or Editor. Associate editors, various desk heads, reporters, sub-editors, cartoonists, artists, photographers, graphic designers and operators, are others to name a few.

As you know, a newspaper contains not only just news articles, but various other feature articles pertaining to politics, science, business and finance, entertainment, fashion, women, children, foreign news and so on.

There are different journalists who write or specialise on these various subjects and different desks too to handle these sections. They are the news desk, features desk, business desk and sports desk.

Journalists who are responsible for bringing in the news are 'reporters' and most of them have their own special areas of reporting which is known as a 'beat'. Some write only news articles, while others specialise in writing feature articles or special columns, sometimes under their own names or pen names.

This name, when published is called a byline in newspaper jargon (language) and a special story that no other news media has published is called a 'scoop' or 'exclusive' story.

Apart from news reporters and feature writers, there are people like you who regularly send in various articles for publication, and they are called contributors. Those who write in regularly without working at the office are correspondents.

Then, there are journalists who write to one particular paper or to many on a freelance basis who are called freelancers.

Well, now you roughly know who is responsible for the writing part. Now let's check out the rest; those who correct the grammar and improve the articles giving them headlines etc. sent by outsiders or written by the staff are called sub-editors. They, along with graphic artists design the page layouts. (We will highlight more about the pre-press and printing process in our next issue of 'Operation A-Z').

Let's also check out how each section of the paper and an article are classified; you may have seen how articles are displayed in the pages of a newspaper in different sections.

The title of the newspaper which is always carried on the first page right at the top usually is called the masthead (also called the nameplate or flag) while the small advertisements (if any) on either side are known as ear space. Each story that appears, be it a news article or a feature article must have a heading which is called a headline.

The main story is the lead article, which normally appears with a large, boldface headline which is sometimes referred to as the banner headline.

There could also be brief descriptions of the articles which are referred to as 'blurbs' and straplines that add or explain what a headline states.

The different styles used for lettering are called fonts which can be used in bold or lightprint. Most articles are illustrated with photographs or sketches. There are special photographers attached to various papers and sections too.

Some photographers specialise in sports pictures while the others are talented in capturing beautiful nature scenes or captivating human interest pictures.

The main photograph is sometimes known as the 'bull picture' and the details given under the picture are called a caption.

Apart from news reports and feature articles, there are cartoons, most of which are political and are carried in the centre pages of the first section known as the Editorial and Op-Ed pages, comic strips, mind games and crosswords, photo features (which are mostly photographs with a brief caption) astrology and various other columns and even advertorials.

Now, don't get mixed up with editorials and advertorials. Editorials usually are written by the Editor of a newspaper and reflects his/her opinion and stand on various matters which could be either political or general. Advertorials are articles or photo-features promoting certain products or services.

There is so much more to write about this subject, but as space is limited, what is already written should suffice to give you a general idea about the various sections, and people involved in a newspaper.

However, before we close chapter on this article, we must enlighten you on the material used to print the newspaper. We all know its paper, but did you know that it is called newsprint and comes in different thicknesses and quality?

The paper which is sometimes imported is brought to the 'press' as gigantic reels and then cut to the required sizes at the press, during the printing process.

Look out for details of the printing process in the next Operation A-Z article.

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Fact file...

* Broadsheet papers are generally traditional and formal; the emphasis is on current affairs and feature stories. Tabloids tend to be highly graphical, taking a more sensational approach in their news and presentation.

* Advertising department provides a guide - what is known as a dummy to the editorial, indicating the pages and sizes of advertisements in the newspaper. The space left over after the ads have been placed on each page is called the news hole. The space is measured by the column inch. A broadsheet is divided into either 10 or 8 columns while tabloids may be divided into 5 columns.

* A column inch is one column wide and one inch high. The lines separating the columns or stories are called column rules and the white space in between columns is called gutter space.

* The white space around the story is called 'air space'.

* The standard title for a newspaper journalist is reporter. A person who is new to the field is known as a cub reporter or a rookie. If the reporter covers news in an area away from the central news office, he or she is known as a correspondent.

* A source is a person who provides a reporter information related to a story. When a news 'provider' does not want to be identified, he/she is referred to as a 'source' - official or unofficial.

* An expose is a story, often written in the format of a feature that reveals (exposes) hidden corruption or a scandal.

* Hard news is a short story that gives a factual account of a current issue.

* A banner is a large, front page headline that extends the width of the page.

*A subhead is what appears in between the text and is usually larger than the font size of the 'body copy'. It is in bold type.

* Have you seen instructions given below an article directing the reader to look for the rest of the article in another section of the paper? Well, that is called a 'jump line', in newspaper jargon.

* The text that appears under a photo explaining it is not only called a caption but also a cutline by some. The small headline above the caption is called a catchline, and above the photo is called an overline.

* Creditline is the text that identifies the photographer or the source from where the material used (text or pix) was provided.