Structure of Newsrooms
Newsrooms can have various wings depending on the size of the newspaper. They can be divided into editing, reporting, and mechanical wing.
flowchart TB
X(Chief Editor
Executive Editor
Resident Editor)
X-->A(Newsroom)
subgraph 1
direction TB
B(Central Editing Desk)-->D(Assistant Editor,
News Editor,
Chief Copy Editor,
Senior Copy Editor,
Copy Editors
feature writers)
end
subgraph 2
C(News Bureau)-->E(Bureau Chief,
Special Correspondents,
Reporters: Chief, Senior, City, Beat
Stringers
Photo Editor
Photographers)
end
A-->|editing wing|B
A-->|reporting wing|C
N(News Agencies)--->B
B-->P(Desktop Publishing)
Roles (News Desk/Central Editing Desk)
Editor / Chief Editor / Editor-in-Chief
heads a newspaper
supervises and controls all newsrooms
designation depends on size and structure of newsroom
responsible for the editorial policy
looks after its execution (in consultation with Resident and Executive Editors)
plans growth
responsible for everything, especially the editorial page (aka voice of the paper)
makes editorial and special comments on contemporary issues
content and presentation of the newspaper = editor's vision
Executive Editor
Executes the vision of the editor in chief
takes part in all initiatives taken by editor-in-chief
gives suggestions to junior staff in absence of editor-in-chief
up to date with activities of multi-edition newspapers
Resident Editor
in multi-edition newspapers, newspapers are published from different towns and cities
person who heads a particular edition = resident editor
Large papers have many editions. For eg ToI originates from Mumbai but has lots of editions - Bangalore, New Delhi, etc
Resident Editors are extended arms of the chief editor who implements newspaper's policies
Assistant Editor
assists chief editor and performs the duties assigned by the chief editor
may write an editorial and look after the feature page + supplements
Closely associated w Chief Editor
News Editor
decides the selection and rejection of news items
assigns the items on various pages
gives a fresh treatment or angle to the news
allocates page
decides all of this on the worthiness of the news story
in close contact w news placement and page designing; and news wing and reporting wing
supervises colleagues
co-ordinates
knows policies and implents them under the guidance of editor
smaller newsrooms might not have a news editor; in that case, chief sub fills the role
Chief Sub Editor / Chief Copy Editor
Distributes news items to sub editors
coordinates with news and reporting wing for better
coverage and also consults with the advertisement and circulation wing
In absence of News Editor, play the role