Inside your Gazette
Every day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, a team of journalists,
advertising employees, press operators and drivers create and deliver
a new Gazette to your driveway or your computer
desktop.
It’s a process that sometimes starts with you, the reader.
Maybe you’ve wondered what it takes to produce a daily newspaper.
Or you may want to know how
to get a story in the paper, or who to call with questions
or complaints.
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Stories involve collaboration, planning among several departments
BILL VOGRIN, THE GAZETTE
May 30, 2007 - 9:58AM
Every day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, a team of journalists,
advertising employees, press operators and drivers create and deliver
a new Gazette to your driveway or your computer desktop. It’s
a process that sometimes starts with you, the reader. Maybe you’ve
wondered what it takes to produce a daily newspaper. Or you may want
to know how to get a story in the paper, or who to call with questions
or complaints.
Here is a step-by-step look at The Gazette and how a journalist’s
idea, or a citizen’s tip, becomes words and pictures in ink on
newsprint or in images on a computer monitor. And how it happens fresh,
every day.
THE IDEA
Newspaper stories start with an idea. An observation. A complaint. Maybe
it’s a tip phoned in or e-mailed from readers upset about something
happening in their neighborhood, or at their childrens’ school,
or at work.
If it involves the police or fire departments, the first tip may appear
on a police Web site, squawk across a radio scanner, or be called in
by a witness. Many times the idea is generated by the agenda of the
City Council, or the County Commission, Planning Commission, school
board or other government agency.
Those types of tips are considered “hard news,” the responsibility
of the city desk. Other newsroom departments include business, features
and sports. But the process is the same: Reporters and their editors
decide what to go after.
THE REPORTING
News reporters work the phones or hit the road to track down sources
such as neighborhood residents, witnesses of a crime, victims, the accused,
government employees such as police and fire officials and elected officials.
They may attend meetings where people gather to debate issues and influence
decision-makers in government.
Enough people must be interviewed to ensure all sides of a story are
covered.
Researchers also help by scouring the Internet or using computer spreadsheets
to crunch budget numbers, school test scores or census data to detect
trends.
Hypothetical situation: Public safety reporter Anthony Lane goes to
a structure fire about 4 p.m. after hearing it on the scanner.
THE IMAGES
Photographers and artists are enlisted to contribute pictures, charts
and maps to illustrate the topic.
Some photographs will stand alone, without an accompanying story. Others
convey emotion and insight into story subjects.
Hypothetical: Photographer Jerilee Bennett responds to the fire at 4:15
p.m. just as she’s finishing her third other photo assignment
of the day.
THE WRITING
When they think they have enough information, reporters become writers.
They sit at their computer and put into words the story as they know
it, sifting facts from rumor, speculation and disinformation.
The goal is to present a fair picture and ensure all sides are aired.
EDITING, ROUND 1
Once written, articles go through phases of editing. First up are line
editors, often the same people who worked with reporters to select the
story ideas.
Examples of line editors include the city editor, business editor, the
sports editor and their assistants.
Stories may be sent back to reporters for rewriting. Line editors make
some changes, often shortening the stories. Eventually, they are shipped
on for another round of editing.
Hypothetical: Deputy City Editor Joel Millman edits an intial fire story
filed by Lane at 4:15 p.m., asking for clarification on one phrase.
STORY BUDGETS
Line editors keep a running list of stories for the next day’s
newspaper. They prioritize
the list so that the best stories are considered for front pages of
the various sections.
Three times a day, beginning at 10 a.m., editors meet to discuss their
story budgets and make plans for what will run on the section fronts.
These plans often change, however, because a story that’s still
being reported can get better — or worse — and new stories
keep surfacing. Some reporters and their line editors work later shifts
to cover school board meetings, sports events and latebreaking news
such as police standoffs.
THE ONLINE SHORTCUT
The next morning’s newspaper may still be many hours away, but
some stories are made available to readers soon after the line editors
finish with them. First, they’re read by one more editor, who
works on the copy desk, then these articles are posted online at gazette.com
Big stories, in fact, may be updated many times throughout the day.
Hypothetical: Millman sends four paragraphs of the story to Carmen Boles,
the deputy news editor. Boles posts the story at 4:23 p.m. to gazette.com.
PAGE DESIGNERS
The next stop for news articles is the design desk, where they’re
combined with photos, charts and maps and placed on computerized pages
in a process called pagination.
It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle, but they don’t exactly
start with a blank sheet of paper. Many pages contain advertisements,
stacked from the bottom of the page up.
Hypothetical: Andy Rohrback is designing Page 1, where the fire story
will be displayed. After reading the story about 6:30 p.m., he asks
for and gets clearance to build a graphic focusing on the timeline of
events.
EDITING, ROUND 2
The newsroom’s finishing touches are applied by copy editors,
many of whom work well into the night. Although the features and business
sections are usually wrapped up by late afternoon or early evening,
the front, local news and sports sections remain in production long
after the sun sets.
Copy editors are the final journalists to read articles, the last line
of defense against mistakes and awkward wording. They write the headlines
on stories and the cutlines beneath photos.
Some are “wire editors,” who select regional, national and
international articles that aren’t written by The Gazette. When
pages are finished, copy editors scour “page proofs” and
make last-minute fixes. One sticks around after midnight to look at
the first issues off the press.
Hypothetical: Copy Editor Mike Eiler fixes a typographical error in
a headline at 12:10 a.m., just before press time.
STUFF TO KNOW
Some facts you may not know about The Gazette’s newsroom:
- Reporters don’t write the headlines for their stories. That’s
done by copy editors.
- The Opinion section operates independently of the newsroom. Often,
reporters have no idea that an editorial is being written about a topic
they’ve covered on the news pages. If you want to submit your
comments, write to Letters to the Editor c/o The Gazette, P.O. Box 1779,
Colorado Springs, CO 80901, fax to 636-0202, or e-mail opinion@gazette.com
- You can now write your own articles, illustrated with your own photos,
and have them published online and possibly in print in the Your Hub
section. Outside the newsroom, many other Gazette departments play pivotal
roles in producing the daily paper. Among them:
- Circulation: If you have questions about your home newspaper delivery
or your subscription bill, call 1-866-632-NEWS.
- Advertising: For information about display or classified advertising,
call the front desk, 632-5511.
NEWSROOM DEPARTMENTS:
YOUR HUB
YourHub at ColoradoSprings.com is 15 neighborhood Web sites and four
weekly newspapers that contain stories, blogs, event announcements and
photos provided by citizens. Contact: 636-0125 or tim.bergsten@coloradosprings.com
SPORTS
Sports covers games and the people, issues and controversies that surround
them. Sports fans want information, explanation and discussion about
the topics of the day, whether it be the Air Force quarterback or a
high school hero. Contact: 636-0250 or sports@gazette.com
LIFE
The Life staff covers some of the drudgery and most of our fun activities
— from buying the best lawn mower to skiing the backcountry. It
creates the Life, Food, Out There and Travel sections. Contact: 636-0278
or dena.rosenberry@gazette.com
BUSINESS
The business department writes about local companies, trends, issues
and business people. The section includes national and international
business news and analysis of financial markets. Contact: 636-0273 or
businessnews@gazette.com
PHOTO
The photo staff covers news, events and people for all sections of the
newspaper. Photographers and editors also shoot and produce online content
such as audio slideshows and video. Contact: 636-0265 or photo@gazette.com
PRODUCTION
Copy editors, designers and artists work with content that is placed
on computerized pages. Day and night staffs handle sports, news, business
and features for print and online. Contact: 636-1656 or trent.stephens@gazette.com
METRO
Reporters and editors cover news throughout the region and also staff
a Denver bureau. The first reporter arrives at 6 a.m., and the last
one leaves at 11 p.m. unless later news is breaking. Contact: 636-0221
or citydesk@gazette.com
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment department produces stories and reviews related to
movies, music and more for the Friday GO! section and others. Contact:
636-0270 or warren.epstein@gazette.com
