Generic Elective. ( HOD Ma'am )

News Story Writing

The general format of a news story writing is the ‘inverted pyramid style’. It begins with the most important things followed by lesser important points and ends with the least important points.

Headlines.

Lead.

Body / Details.

Minor / Other details.

The Headline is considered to be the most important aspect of a news story which catches the attention of the readers. It also arouses the interest in the news story. The Lead is the opening statement / paragraph of a news story. It usually answers the 5 Ws and 1 H which stand for what, when, where, who, why and how.

The Body of the news story explains in detail the happening in a chronological form. It may be considered as an extension of the lead. The news story ends with other details which are relevant to the news story. The statement of an eye within or affair in charge or any other authority finds place in this part of the news story.

What is News ?

There has been no definition of news which is satisfactory to all. The priorities differ for people belonging to different parts of the world and therefore the definition of news varies from country to country. However, the unusual will always interest people and hence anything unusual is news. Events that affect people’s lives are news. Bigger the impact, bigger the news. An important feature of news is that it is ‘news’. Lord Northcliffe defined news as :-

“If a dog bites a man, it is not news but if a man bites a dog, it is news.”

He further said that there are two main divisions of news :-

1. Actualities
2. Talking Points

The first one includes natural calamities, accidents, crime, strikes and political happenings. The second one is getting at the topics which people are discussing and developing them.

Definition Of News

“News may be defined as any accurate fact or idea that will interest a large number of readers.”

“News may be defined as an accurate unbiased account of the significant facts of a timely happening that is of interest to the readers of a newspaper that prints the account.”

According to Mr. B. R. Verghese, former editor in chief, ‘The Hindustan Times’, “The standard definition that only ‘man bites dog is news is obsolete and inaccurate. In view of the ‘communication gap’ in a democratic society that which is reported becomes news & that which is not reported remains non news. Sensationalism, disaster, fraud and the like in news but it is not ‘sole news or the highest news’”.

As stated earlier an essential feature of news is that it is ‘new’ , it wouldn’t be wrong to say that along with reading about something new people also like to read about things that they have heard of.

News can be broadly divided into 2 types :-

1. Hard News 
2. Soft News

The Hard News consists of accidents, crime and natural calamities and is believed to have a short shelf life. That is to say that timelines plays a very important role in reporting of such news. If not reported immediately the news may go stale and lose its value.

Soft News on the other hand is not bounded by time. It includes features and articles of human interest, feelings of a research and general write-ups on lifestyle. Most of the news articles or stories that we find in the newspapers are hard news. A news reported on a natural calamity falls in the category of hard news as it is reported immediately, but a feature on the same with various findings covering almost every aspect will be categorised as soft news.

Journalism. ( HOD Ma'am )

Journalism

The term ‘journalist’, ‘journal’, and ‘journalism’ are derived from the French word Journal which comes from the Latin term ‘diurnalis’ or ‘daily’. The ‘Acta-Diurna’, a handwritten bulletin put up daily in forum, the main public square in ancient Rome, was perhaps the world’s first newspaper. Later on Pamphlets periodicals Newsletter, Newsheets came to be termed as newspapers. Journalism is that part of social activity which is concerned with the dissemination of news and views about the society. Modern journalism feeds five departments of mass communication.

1. Newspapers and Periodicals.
2. Radio.
3. Films and Television.
4. Advertising.
5. Internet.

In modern society journalism has become the media of mass education providing supplementary education to students at all stages and to the general mass.

All activities concerned with the communication of mass media is not journalism, but the part of that activity involving writing, preparation,and production of the communication messages is journalism.

Who is a journalist ?

A journalist is anyone who contributes in some way to the gathering, selection and processing news and current affairs for the press, for the radio or any other electronic media and journalism is the profession to which they belong. Editors, sub-editors, proof readers, reporters, correspondence, script writers, cartoonist, interviews and photographers are all journalists. As a profession journalism is different from other established professions and is known as an open profession. Every established profession some specialised educational qualifications and training to be recruited to them, whereas journalism does not make any such requirement essential and hence is known as an open profession.

Journalism basically is concerned with the publication of news and views on various aspects of human activities in newspapers and periodicals. Its basic function is to inform. In the present times, the horizon of journalism has widened and it has crossed the limits of mere reporting of political and economic news. From its basic function to inform, it has grown to fulfil the functions of educating and entertaining. As a vehicle of mass communication. It also provides a platform to the people with similar interest to discuss various matters of public interest.

There are certain cannons of journalism which every journalist is supposed to observe.

1. Sincerity. Truthfulness. Accuracy.
2. Impartiality.
3. Fairplay.
4. Decency.

Journalist work for the ‘broadsheet’ ( or qualities ). Press and the ‘tabloid’ ( or popular or sensational ) press. The above two terms usually describe the two main formats of Newspapers but they also stand for two kinds of news stories selected, and more importantly the presentation, treatment, and style as well. However, this distinction is blurred, specially when the serious or quality newspaper ( such as The Times Of India ) choose to  highlight the private lives of public figures and tabloids ( such as the Midday ) to publish serious investigative stories of corruption in high places.

Tabloid journalism is frequently termed as ‘Yellow Journalism’ mainly because of its tendency to highlight trivialise and sensationalise events, issues and people. The staple of the tabloids is the private lives of famous people, scandals, rumours false publicity etc. Tabloid journalist are sometimes believed to indulge in 'cheque book' journalism which implies that the subjects of news stories are bribed to sell their true confessions.

Journalism In India - A Short History.

Modern journalism began in India towards the end of 18th century. Prior to independence the press in India had a clear cut role to play in the nations struggle against the british rule. It had put up a brave fight to expose the brutality of regime particularly in its suppression of the freedom movement.

Journalism in India was nurtured in india by some of the greatest men such as freedom fighters, social reformers, intellectuals and men of letters, who gave their best to its development and growth. The history of journalism has been linked with the growth of national consciousness and the progress of freedom movement. In fact, the press journalism nurtured the national consciousness and freedom movement in the country and was in turn nurtured by it.

The first attempt to start a newspaper in Calcutta was made by William Bolts in 1776. He announced the first newspaper meant for publication and asked those interested to come to his residence to read the news. This ‘newspaper’ had the twin function of informing the British Community of news from ‘home’ an doc ventilating grievances against the colonial administration.

The age of journalism dawned in the country with James Augustus Hicky who dared to start his ‘Bengal Gazette’  ( also known as Hicky’s Gazette in 1780 ). He described it as ‘a weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none’. Hicky’s fortune began to decline when a rival paper ‘Indian Gazette’ appeared in the same year. It was a much better newspaper with four pages. It was published by Messink and Reed who followed Hicky and benefited from his experience.

Five newspaper made their appearance in Bengal in 6 years time - all started by Englishmen. Some of these newspapers received government patronage ‘The Madras Courier’ and ‘The Bombay Herald’ ( which later merged with the Bombay Courier were then launched into cities. The pioneers of Indian language journalism were the Serampore Missionaries with ‘Samachar Drapan’ and other Bengali periodicals and Raja Ram Mohan Roy with his Persian newspaper ‘Mirat-Ul-Akhbar’.

The objective of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the social reformer, in starting the newspaper was ‘to lay before the public such articles of intelligence as may increase their experience, and tend to their social improvement’.

The year of what the British historians term, ‘The Sepoy Mutiny’ brought back the press restrictions in the form of ‘the gagging act, 1857’. The failure of the ‘war of Independence’ brought the administration of the East-India company to a close with the crown taking over the colony, with the promise of religious toleration and press freedom. The main topics of discussion in the English and vernacular press before and after the mutiny were Sati, caste, widow remarriage, polygamy, crimes and opposition to the teaching of English in schools and colleges.

Political journalism in India is traced to 1861 when the Indian Council Act empowered the government to nominate distinguished Indians to the legislative. During the nest two decades ‘The Times Of India’, ‘The Pioneer’, ‘The Madras Mail’ and ‘The Amrit Bazar Patrika’ came into existence all except the last one were edited by English men and served the interest of English educative readers. This period also witnessed a boon in the Indian language press in the country. Several newspapers in almost all major Indian languages made their appearance.

At about the same time the government brought in the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 to control the press. This act was the greatest blow to the freedom of the press in India and the Indian language newspaper suffered most heavily because of this law.

In 1910, the Indian Press Act clamped further controls on newspapers in the wake of partition of Bengal and violent attacks by terrorists in Ahmedabad, Ambala and elsewhere. The act required owners of the printing presses to deposit securities of Rs. 500 to Rs. 2000 which were forfeited if matters of objection were printed. The threats of seizure of the printing press and confiscation of copies sent by post were also included in the art.

The 1st world war introduced still more severe press laws, but their was no let up in nationalist editions. The second world war brought about a change in the attitude of the government towards newspaper. For the first time the government agreed to self regulation by the organisations of the newspapers themselves thereby avoiding much of the bitterness caused by the government control. Two important newspaper organisations formed were ‘The Indian And Eastern Newspaper Society ( IENS ), and The All India Newspaper Editors Conference ( AINEC ). A press advisory committee was formed with the assistance of AINEC.

With the approval of the Independence Act in August 1947, the role of the press changed. It had to shoulder the new responsibilities of national construction. India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a champion of the liberty of press. The Nehru government passed in October 1951, The Press Act which was reminiscent of earlier press laws enacted by the colonial rulers. It also covered the freedom, of taking action against those footprints matter of objection. So fierce was the opposition to it that in 1956 it was allowed to lapse and the First Press Commission was formed.

In 1975, however an internal emergency was clamped on the nation and pre-censorship was imposed. The government surpassed transmission of news by imposing censorship on newspapers, journals, radio, news agencies and on foreign correspondence. Even teleprinter services were subjected to pre-censorship. The censorship was total and unparalleled. News agencies had to get all their material censored in Delhi prior to transmission. Further newspapers had to submit already censored news for re-censorship in their respective headquarters. 

Role Of The Press

Prior to independence, the press in India had a clear cut role to ply in nation’s struggle against British rule. Many editors of the Indian language press defied censorship regulations to keep the nation informed ( and agitated ) about the progress of the movement. With the goal of independence achieved, the Indian press was in a dilemma. Should it play the role of adversary to the government in power - the role it had played with remarkable success or should it transform itself into an ally, and support the government in its efforts at national development.

According to the First Press Commission the press should help secure and protect a social order in which justice ‘social, economic and political’ would prevail. But the role of the press in India need not be that of an adversary or of an ally of the government. The press should be a watch dog and act as a catalytic agent to hasten the process of social and economic change. The perspective of an adversary role for the press is derived from the assumption that the press is the voice of the public, is above corruption and that the government might misuse it.

In the recent years the press has become so obsessed with national and regional politics, cricket, crime and cinema that even silly rumours about people associated to these fields hit the front page. What the press needs urgently is creative, investigative and development reporting chiefly on non-political issues or themes like unemployment, malnutrition, exploitation of the poor, injustice and similar topics. Although the press does take care of such issues the follow up investigations of these scandals are lacking and are rarely pursued to the end. The news media vips up interest in a scam or a murder, then forgets about it when another more sensational scam is unearthed. Such reporting sense newspapers but does little to bring the guilty to book or to educate the public about the contexts of corruption and crime.

Banner

A headline stretching over the top of the page is known as the banner. It is usually of four or more columns. It is also known as ‘streamer’ or ‘ribbon’. If something very important has happened like a political murder the newspapers print a banner headline which stretches across the page. For e.g. “Benazir assassinated.”

Beat

It is a journalistic term for a news item that is the exclusive property of a newspaper. It is also applied to the special area or territory assigned to reporters ( such as crime beat, political beat, educational beat etc. ) It can also imply the place regularly visited by a reporter to gather news.

Box Story

It is a news story or feature enclosed by a box. It also refers to a brief story enclosed by a border. It may be a single column box or may extend to more than a column. Many newspapers use only the top and bottom borders. Sometimes they are put in the middle of a related story and are called ‘drop-ins’.

By-Line

It is a signature to proceed a news story. It includes the name of the author or the write of news story or article given at the top of the story or article. Sometimes the name appears at the bottom of the story.

Caption

It literally refers to any heading but it used specifically in regard to picture heading and accompanying texts. In other words it is the description given of the pictures, cartoons, maps and diagrams published in a newspaper. The term caption is mostly used to refer to the text that appears at the top of the picture or diagram and the part which describes the illustration ( usually found at the bottom of the picture is known as cutline )

Copy Editor.

It is an American term; also called copy readers. They are called sub-editors in India. The copy editors job is to correct an prepare  a text for publishing. They are responsible to give headlines for a news story. In other words copy editor or subeditor is a person who checks, corrects and polishes the stories written by reporters. Sometimes they also participate in discussion of how to arrange stories and pictures on a page.

Correspondant 

A reporter who functions outside the headquarters of a newspaper is known as the correspondent. In other words, a person who is authorised to send news from out of a town points is a correspondent. He delivers his copy to the editor through telephone or email. The newspapers generally recruit correspondents in the main cities of the country and they also have foreign correspondence and special correspondence. 

Credit Line

It is used to describe the source which supplied the picture, cartoon, photograph or news item. It usually appears at the end of a news story or at the bottom of a picture.

Deadline.

Deadline refers to the closing time of an edition of a newspaper. In other words it is the time at which the copy for an edition must be ready. There are different deadlines for the city desk, sport desk, the foreign desk etc and for closing of pages in the composing room.

Dummy.

Dummy is a replica of a regular newspaper page in which the chief sub-editor indicates the position and size of the various stories and pictures he wants to be published on that page. It is a drawing, usually freehand, outlining the position of news stories along with advertisements and illustrations on a page. The page so marked is then sent to the makeup foreman in the press who collects the printed matter and makes up the page as indicated in the dummy.

Editorial.

The newspaper’s opinion or comment on current news and events published everyday along with the news is known as the editorial. It  is usually the editor or an expert on the subject who writes the editorial. It is invariably assigned a permanent position on the editorial page.

Freelance.

A freelance journalist earns money by selling his work or services to several different organisations rather than being employed by one particular organisation. A freelance journalist is self-employed and can work in the areas of his or her interest.

Ombudsman.

Ombudsman refers to a government official whose job is to examine and report on complains made by ordinary people about the government or the public authorities. In journalism it refers to a reader’s representative who serves as a sort of middleman between the newspaper staff and the public. Their redressal of grievance filed by the readers through the ombudsman an in any newspaper organisation.

Scoop.

It is an exclusive story secured by a journalist or a newspaper which proves to be beneficial for the organisation. In other words, it is a piece of information or important and exciting news that is printed in one newspaper before other newspapers know about it. 

Stringer.

A journalist who is not a regular staff of a newspaper but who often supplies stories for it is known as a stringer. It refers to an occasional correspondent of a newspaper or news agency who is paid by the amount of space used for the story or for each story used.

Yellow Journalism.

A late nineteenth century type of newspaper publishing that placed profit above truthfulness and significance and emphasising on sensational stories of human interest and reader appeal at the expense of public responsibility. The stories published are often exaggerated and deals generally with gossip. Yellow journalism is often referred to as tabloid news. Originally tabloids were of low quality and had sensational or bizarre content, but today tabloids include papers that mixed sensationalism with profession.

Factors affecting News selection.

Immediacy : Timeliness of news is the most important factor of news section. Time is an important element because news had to be news as news ages, it loses its value. Hard news has a very short shelf life and it needs to be reported immediately. Time is an important factor in reporting news related to accidents, disasters and crimes.

Proximity.

Closeness in space is another factor of news selection. It is only natural that most of us are much more interested about things happening in our community and immediate surroundings than in some other case. The news worthiness of an event is directly related to the physical nearness of the readers. An accident or crime at close proximity has much greater news value than the one abroad.

Prominence. ( Names makes news )

‘Names make news’ so goes the cliche. Names of individuals especially celebrities & public figures also make news. The person may be widely known for his profession, wealth and status. Stories about sport stars, filmstars, national leaders and religious leaders are always reported prominently. The press publicity that filmstar Amitabh Bacchan gets on his birthday can be taken as an example for prominence.

Even unknown person can make news because of some oddity, eccentricity or unusual occupation and such other factors.

Truth and objectivity.

Accuracy is considered to be a very important factor in news reporting. ‘ Get it first, but first get it right’, is a famous saying. Inaccurate, misleading or distorted information leads to the loss of credibility for the newspaper or the channel. Objectivity demands that both sides and all points of views in a controversy should be fairly presented. A balanced picture of an event or the happening enhances the value of news.

Number and size.

Number and size play an important role in news selection. The size of the event and the number of people affected by it, contributes to the news value. Whether it is an accident or a natural calamity or even a government policy which would have an impact on a larger number of people will gain value and would be reported prominently. For example, a train accident in which a large number of people are injured will have greater news value as compared to an accident of a car with a minor injuries to the passenger. 

Progress and disaster.

News related to progress and disaster also gather a lot of news value. But it is often seen that the news of disaster has more value as compared to that progress. For example : The construction for a new flyover will catch little attention of the readers as compared to the news of a landslide which has claimed some lives.

Human Interest.

If an event or an issue is of interest or concern or significance to readers it gathers news value. It may be of interest to a section of the community or of local, regional, national or international interest. A reader usually thinks how an event or issue would affect his life and accordingly shows interest in the news. For example : Not every section of society would show interest in news related to some sports, where as the news on national budget would be of interest to many. Human interest or stories based on human conditions has always been of interest to the readers. Such stories attract attention of the government and society at large to the miserable conditions of people.


News Agencies

The oxford advanced learners dictionary explains the word news agency as an organisation that collects and supplies news to the newspapers, television and radio companies. A news agency according to a UNESCO definition is “an undertaking whose principle objective, whatever its legal form, is to gather news and news material of which the soul purpose is to express or present facts and to distribute this to a group of a news enterprises, and in exceptional circumstances to private individuals, with a view to providing them with a complete and impartial a news service as possible against payments and underconncections compatible with business laws and usage. However, in the present times this definition of news agency sounds outdated. Today the transitional agencies are large corporations making their profit largely from the sale of financial and market data provided to clients around the world. The service of the agency provide d along with audio video photographs and all other kinds of data.

The major translational agencies are ‘The Big Four’ : Reuters Of Britain, AP ( Associated Press )of the united states of America, AFP ( Agency France Presse ) and UPI ( United Presse International ) of the United States.

In India there are two English news agencies The Press Trust Of India ( PTI ) and The United News Of India (P.T.I)and The United News of India.They are the main suppliers of domestic or national news to the Indian press.Two other agencies Hindustan Samachar and Samachar Bharti provides services in hindi and regional languages..

The Press Trust of India(P.T.I)was born after India’s Independence as a successor of the famous associated press of India(API)owned and operated by Reuters.

A nationalistic news agency known as the Free Press of India(FPI)was established in 1930’s but its services could not continue for more than a couple of years.In 1933 the United Press of India(UPI) rose out of FPI’s ashes and proved to be a great success.until independence,reuters and UPI were the main sources of news for indian newspaper.By 1949 the Indain and the Easter Newspaper Society had started its own agency-The Press Trust of India(PTI)which purchased Reuters and UPI struggled on,providing little or no competition.The PTI was set up as a non-profit sharing corporative of newspapers with a mandate to provide economical, efficient and unbiased news service to a ll subscribers without discrimination. Since, then PTI has expanded its services and has foreign correspondents in NewYork, Moscow , London, and Kathmandu and other world capital. Beside the news service in english, other major services provided by PTI are - PTI Bhasha, PTI Newscan, PTI Photo,PTI TV, PTI Features and PTI Stock Scan.

UNI

UNI was registered as a company in 1959. Since its inception it has grown steadily and agency now operates from five times as many towns and cities as in 1968. In 1982, UNI went  bilingual when it launched its hindi service- UNIVARTA. UNI was the first news agency to go on the satellite communication. It was also the first news agency to launch national service, stock exchange service and financial service. Besides UNIFIN and UNISTOCK the other services include UNISCAN and UNIFEATURES.

Hindi News Agencies.

PTI Bhasha and Univarta are the hindi units of the two national news agencies. Until the 1980’s two hindi news agencies namely The Hindustan Samachar and Samachar Bharti served the hindi press. They also cater to the needs of the vernacular press of different Indian languages. The Hindustan Samachar was founded in 1948 whereas the Samachar Bharti began its operations in 1967 supported by the governments of Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. They were brought under one banner during the emergency with a view of starting a news agency directly under governments sponsorship with the lifting of the emergency however SAMACHAR - the label under which the agencies were merged - broke into separate constituents again.

Much of the matter that goes into a newspaper or a board cast news bulletin comes from news agencies. So, basically a news agency is an undertaking to gather and sell news. They do  not offer information directly to the readers but they provide all other news media with reports features, pictures etc. News agencies enlarge the media scope of news coverage. Without their services a newspaper or a broadcasting station would find well balanced and comprehensive news coverage extremely difficult.

Since the agencies transmits the same report to different newspaper a news agency is expected to provide impartial news service free from any bias.

News agencies - Indian and Foreign, are no doubt major sources of news for newspapers. Some of the other sources are news media’s own reporters, correspondents and special representatives, publicity material from government departments, business houses, political parties, reports of these police stations, hospitals and court rooms can be the other sources of news.

Duties And Responsibilities Of Reporter.

A newspaper’s reputation and credibility depend largely on its reporters. They can make or destroy a newspaper. They are the life blood of a newspaper which educates and informs its readers on what is happening in the city, state, country and world of large. What they present to their readers helps them to form their own judgement of what they read, whether it is complete and has answered all their questions.

Reporter in a major newspaper are of 4 different categories. First, the city reporters who form the majority and whoever the city; secondly, their are The MoFossil Correspondence who are reporters in the districts of the state in which the newspaper is published; their are The National Correspondence who are stationed in the country’s capital and the capitals of various states and lastly there are the Foreign Correspondence who supply news to their newspapers from foreign countries.

A reporter may be accurate, determined and a good citizen and take part in moulding the views of other people, but he cannot play his part successfully unless he keeps his eyes open and the mind attuned to the present, future as well as the past. He must not express his own views in what he writes but everything he writes must express his mind and its condition.

The attributes of a good reporter includes accuracy, clarity of expression, speed, the sense of sporting a story, and the ability to build and maintain contacts. A reporter must respond to the urge and thrill of the news. Getting the news is not a matter of routine unless a journalist has the thrill and ‘nose for news’ he cannot prove to be an efficient news gatherer.

An ideal reporter, however brilliant and imaginative must maintain a sense of responsibility. He must balance things in such a way that he can keep to the interests of the organisation without sacrificing the public good. He must realise that he holds in his hand one of the reins by which mass movements can be forged and that he must use it purposefully and cautiously. His over enthusiasm should not land him into a situation where he may be called irresponsible.

While reporting about a particular community or during a general reporting he should be careful enough not to heart the sentiments of any specific community. The words should not be used as an ignition agent of the emotions. While reporting about a communal riot the words and tone have to be neutral and they should not suggest favouring or supporting and one community which may lead to worsen the situation.

A simple issue may be presented in an offending way which may in turn, hurt the sentiments of the people belonging to any religious community.

An important task of the reporter is to summarise speeches and statements of policy and bring out the most important points. Any distortion to the above leads to the downfall of the reporter and eventually the newspaper.

While reporting scandals the names of people should be printed only when there is adequate proof of their involvement, otherwise it may bring a bad name to the organisation. A reporter is supposed to state only the facts and not give his own opinion on various issues and he must neither be biased nor judgement.

There is no said routine for a reporter. A reporter cannot say no to assignments i.e. they should be ready to work in whichever area assigned to them. They should be able to take interviews, summarise them and present them in a presentable way. They should crosscheck the facts before it gets printed. If anything goes wrong they should be ready to take the responsibility for it and safeguard the interest of the organisation, they work for. 

Newspaper Organisation.

Journalism is not concerned only with the writing and editing of newspapers and periodicals. The gathering and transmission of news, business management, advertising and other processes connected with the production of a newspaper also comes under journalism.

The organisational set up varies from newspaper to newspaper depending on its size and the different services provided to the readers. Generally speaking most of the newspapers have 3 main departments - Editorial, Business and Mechanical.

Editorial.

The editorial / news department is the heart of a newspaper. It deals with news, features, columns and editorials. At the head of the department is the editor, editor-in-chief. Downward from him are assisted editors, special representatives, correspondences and reporters whose various functions are to gather news, prepare stories features and articles and write editorials. The editor is assisted by city editor or the chief reporter who has a team of reporters to cover local events. The editor is also assisted by critics and experts in special fields such as theatre, music, film etc. There may be separate departments for feature, sports, finance and such others which are headed by assistant editors. For Sunday or magazine edition their is generally a separate magazine editor. The photo editor provides photo coverage with the help of staff photographers. The editor is also assisted by free-lance writers, cartoonists, subeditors, proof readers etc. One important desk namely the copy desk and its functionary head i.e. the copy editor “whose name never appears in print” is the backbone of the newspaper. He edits the copy, writes the headlines and checks for the accuracy and attractiveness of the newspaper. He is virtually the last man between the newspaper and the public.

The editor of a small newspaper involves himself in almost all the functions i.e. gathering, editing and printing of news. He not only edits but also fulfils the role of a reporter many a times. He also takes care of the revenues and overall business management of the newspaper.

Business Department

The 2nd important department of a newspaper is business department which earns revenue for the newspaper. It is divided into two main divisions - advertising and circulation. The advertisement department may have further divisions such as advertisements for local display, national display, classifieds, public service advertisements etc. It may also have a section that helps in the preparation of advertisements. The circulation department deals with the dispatch of copies to the city and beyond the city through road, rail, and air. It may also have a promotional wing to boost up the circulation of the newspaper.

Mechanical Department.

The mechanical department is generally divided into 4 parts - composing, engraving, stereotyping, and the press.

Composing - It is said into type.

Engraving - The engraving wing is concerned with photos and drawings and makes them ready for printing.

Stereotyping - In the stereotyping room, the plates for the press are cast into molten metal from the page form. The papers are printed, folded, trimmed, counted and delivered to the mailing section by the press.

The bigger newspapers have also separate administrative or coordination as well as promotional departments. The administrative department looks after the administration of different departments and works as a coordinator for them. The promotional department primarily deals with the promotion and circulation of the newspaper as well as works in respect of advertisements. It also helps to build up the image of a newspaper and earn public goodwill and clients. 

Mass Communication

Human beings have communicational with their fellow beings since the early days through verbal and non-verbal means, generally in a face-to-face situation. But, the world today is far too complex to function only through direct communication between one individual and another. Our important message must read many people at one time if we intend to create a wider impact. Mass communication makes it possible to deliver the same messages simultaneously to a vast and diversified audience. Mass communication simply defined is the technical extension of human voice just as the spade is an extension of human arm.

Through the marvels of mass communication the world indeed has become a global village. Modern life would be inconceivable without media. Some people construe that the overall effects of mass communication is generally harmless to both young and old. Some others believe that mass communication seems to affect attitudes and behaviour. Others regard mass media as vehicles of change. They also see it as potential source of informed education.

Mass communication refers to a circumstance of communication in which the medium replicates, duplicates and disseminates identical content to a geographically widespread population. Because they are efficient, cheap and relatively unrestrained means of reaching a great number of people, the press, radio, film, television and internet have come to be regarded as mass media.

The term ‘mass communication’ generally describes institutionalised form of public message, production and dissemination on a large scale. In his “towards a sociology of mass communication, D. McQuail identifies the following features of mass communication :

1. They normally require complex, formal organisations.
2. They are directed towards large audience.
3. They are public - the content is open to all and the distribution is relatively unstructured and informal.
4. The audience is heterogeneous.
5. The relationship between communicator and audience is addressed by persons known only in their public role as communicator.
6. The audience for mass communication is collectively unique to modern society.

Functions Of Mass Communications.

Many people consider mass communication a powerful instrument to influence human behaviour. Some even believe that mass communication has the power to move people into a desired action pattern. But, it is often overlooked that mass communication and its effects cannot be regarded in isolation from the social context keeping this in views it may be said that the mass media serves several general and several specific functions. The mass media serves information, instruction, entertainment, bonding and diversion functions.

Information Function

The availability of information is overwhelming as compared the earlier years when a few T.V. networks, local radio stations and newspapers kept us informed. The present media situation has led to increased competition to provide information which creates the potential for news media outlets to report information prematurely, inaccurately or partially.

Instructive Function

Some media outlets exists to instruct the viewers and to cultivate knowledge by teaching/instructing instead of just giving information.

Entertainment Function

Entertainments refer to communicate acts primarily intended for amusement without necessarily offering any other functional value such as informing or instructing. It helps to reduce the tension and makes it easier for people to cope up with real life problems.

Bonding Function

The new media outlets can bring people together which fulfils the function of bonding. For e.g. : people who share common interests and values can interact and share their views through online forums.

Diversion Function

We all use media for various purposes. Some of us use it as a source of information, some others use it for entertainment and their are some people who use it to escape from the worries of day-to-day lives and to distract the mind from the monotonous routined life. This distraction helps people to relax. It is in this sense that the media performs the diversion function.

In addition to the function discussed above the media outlets also serve the gatekeeping function and the agenda setting function. Media is responsible for people’s perception of reality. Selection therefore is inherent in reporting the days news. This phenomenon is often referred to as the ‘filter’ or ‘gatekeeper’ role of the media. This means that the media can affect or control the information that is transmitted to the audience. Media helps to set our agenda by giving us issues to think about. The role of mass media may be somewhat limited in reforming deeply believes but it can be very powerful in its ability to create awareness about various issues. This impact of mass media, the ability to structure our thinking has been called the agenda setting function.

Theories Of Mass Communication - The Stalagmite & The Bullet

The Bullet Theory

Till the 1940’s it was widely believed that mass communication could inject messages. Just as, a bullet or a needle can inject directly into the minds of the people. Those who believed in the bullet theory saw the people as inert, impressionable and open to manipulation.

The theory regards the target as a white sheet of paper on which the sender can write messages without worrying about the existing impressions. The bullet theory assumes that authority flows the elite to the ordinary people at the lower level of the community. The elitist attitude implies a distinct element of assumed superiority and arrogance towards passive receivers. The followers of this theory take for granted that the receivers of the messages is a homogeneous and brainless mass of people who would react predictably and identically to mass produced message.

The Stalagmite Theory

The shift of emphasis of study of mass communication effects in the recent years has moved from short terms to long term. This has been described as the stalagmite theory because it believes in slow, drop by drop impact of messages over a long period of time as in the formation of a stalagmite. The slow but steady impact of mass media ultimately creates an irreversible impact on the people and the gradual deposit results in permanent effects. The change in our ideas, believes values and opinions occurs over a period of time as stalagmite form on cave floors after many years of steady dripping from above.

The shift in the belief from the bullet theory to the stalagmite theory is also due to the increasing media outlets and the access that people have to it. 

Advertising 

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines advertisements as “a form of paid announcement intended to promote the sale of a commodity or service, to advance an idea or to bring about some other effect, desired by the advertisers.”

The American Marketing Association has defined advertisement as “any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.” In other words, advertisement is paid use of any channel of communication - radio, television, film, press etc to identify, explain or to urge the use or adoption of a product, service or idea. An advertisement is thus a public announcement with the avowed purpose not so much to inform as to persuade the public to buy a product, a service or an idea.

The origin of advertisements as a public announcement is traceable to the town crier and the village drummer. They used their lung-power to shout out their own or other’s messages. The messages could relate to government proclamations or even to sales of goods on market days.

Modern advertising was made possible by inventions of printing, and subsequent attempts to print notices, posters and bills in large numbers. However, it was the in the industrial revolution in Europe combined with large scale urbanisation and mass production of goods and the growth of the publishing business that brought about the expansion of competitive advertising.

The first modern advertising agency started operating around 1875 when N.W. Ayer and son of Philadelphia offered to produce advertisements and also to contract for space in the press. The growth of advertising as a service industry and as a profession was rapid. By 1920s, Ad agencies were offering such ‘facilities’ as campaign planning, budgeting and market research. 

Types Of Advertising.

The most common way of classifying various forms of advertising is in terms of product or service. Product advertising is intended to present and promote goods and services, for example a particular brand or of model of car. The objective of institutional advertisement is to sell the idea or the firm itself. Here, the stress is not on merits of specific product, but the effort is to build up the image of the manufacturer or the institutions. Institutional advertisements is designed to set up profit by increasing the prestige of the institutions. 

Product, service and institutional advertising.

Product advertising. It is the most common type of advertising. The items advertised are consumer products. The dominant focus is the product itself. Rather than the name of the company or manufacturer. The advertising tells a story about, the product, evokes an image and image of it and turns it into something unique. A certain area is created about the product as though it were a dream product satisfying special needs and wants. The whole approach is playful, relaxed, dream-like. Most often, hardly anything is told about the product. Such ads are low in information but high on style. Ads of soft drinks, energy drinks, fast food belong to this type. So do consumer durables such as refrigerators, TV sets, music systems, etc.  Consumer product advertising is the type readers, listeners and viewers are exposed to most of the times. Consumer ads play on emotions, change real human situations into stereotypes and employ techniques of direct and indirect persuasion.