How to Write a Newspaper
Determine you newspaper's niche., Choose a good name., Choose between a paper or online newspaper., Develop a news staff.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine you newspaper's niche.
There are a lot of papers, blogs, and media outlets covering a lot of different topics, but thinking that you can immediately compete with the scope and content of The New York Times will lead to failure.
Search for a topic or perspective that currently isn't being offered in your area and try to fill it.
Small town news, events, and politics are frequently under-reported by major papers, and immediately appeal to everyone who lives in that town..
The more specific your niche the more you will stand out to potential readers, but if you think of something too specific you may alienate readers.
For example, try writing about "Central New York High School Sports" instead of "Tompkins Country Soccer." Do you have expertise in a certain industry that might appeal to a wider audience? For example, if you are knowledgeable about a nearby music scene your paper could interview bands and review new CDs to bring them to a larger audience. , Your name should, in some way, illustrate to potential viewers what your paper is about.
This can be easy if you are starting a small town reporter (The Lansing Sun, The Petaluma Dispatch-Herald), but is a little harder with niche papers.
Find something succinct, but not limiting.
Try something that lets you write a lot of different types of articles.
Instead of "The Southside Chicago Beekeepers Chronicle," try something a little broader like "Windy City Bees & Beekeepers." Always note the date and edition of the paper underneath the title.
Be sure to put your contact information or website near the title as well. , While traditional newspapers are printed and distributed physically, you can often reach a wider audience and cut printing costs by publishing online.
That said, some papers are more successful in print because they can be placed in strategic locations and promoted by local businesses.
Online newspapers tend to attract a diverse readership and can be easily marketed through social media and word of mouth.
They are also cheaper and easier to manage on the fly, as you can respond to users and publish to new stories instantly.
However, you will be competing with millions of other small papers for the same readers and online plagiarism is rampant.
A great, interactive website can also get expensive.
Print newspapers are easier to charge money for, and many consumers still like the physical experience of reading.
But the physical experience costs a lot more time, money, and energy to bring to the world, and other than "letters to the editor" you will get minimal feedback on your writing and who is reading it.
While there is nothing stopping you from being both online and in print, you should choose one or the other when you're starting out. , Whether in print or online, starting a newspaper is tough work for one person.
Between writing, editing, designing, photographing, publishing, marketing, and accounting, there are a lot of different skills that go into creating a newspaper.
While more and more jobs are needed as your paper grows, you must fill at least the following roles to get started:
Reporter:
Writes stories, covers events, and pitches new ideas to the paper.
Reporters are out in the field interviewing, collecting data, and researching the next big article to write, and produce all of your newspaper's content.
Editor:
Helps the reporter hone the story into the right length, tone, and angle for the newspaper.
Often they oversee several reporters in their section (business, sports, politics, etc.) and work as the middleman between the reporters and the editor-in-chief.
Editor-in-Chief:
The head of newspaper, she/he has the final decision on whether or not a story gets printed, what stories go where, and the direction of the paper.
In smaller papers they edit and critique stories while giving reporters guidance and advice.
Copy Editor:
Proofreads articles before they are published, looking for grammatical, syntactical, or factual errors.
Sometimes they do basic research for stories as well.
Photographer:
Accompanies a reporter on stories to capture images that complement the article.
Increasingly, web-based newspapers are requesting video and sound teams as well.
Graphic Designer:
Responsible for the look and layout of your newspaper or website as well as creating graphs, tables, and illustrations for stories.
Sometimes these roles will overlap, and sometimes you will need multiple people covering the same job.
Be flexible and recognize what your paper needs-- a newspaper about art, for example, might need an entire team of graphic designers to make a beautiful paper. -
Step 2: Choose a good name.
-
Step 3: Choose between a paper or online newspaper.
-
Step 4: Develop a news staff.
Detailed Guide
There are a lot of papers, blogs, and media outlets covering a lot of different topics, but thinking that you can immediately compete with the scope and content of The New York Times will lead to failure.
Search for a topic or perspective that currently isn't being offered in your area and try to fill it.
Small town news, events, and politics are frequently under-reported by major papers, and immediately appeal to everyone who lives in that town..
The more specific your niche the more you will stand out to potential readers, but if you think of something too specific you may alienate readers.
For example, try writing about "Central New York High School Sports" instead of "Tompkins Country Soccer." Do you have expertise in a certain industry that might appeal to a wider audience? For example, if you are knowledgeable about a nearby music scene your paper could interview bands and review new CDs to bring them to a larger audience. , Your name should, in some way, illustrate to potential viewers what your paper is about.
This can be easy if you are starting a small town reporter (The Lansing Sun, The Petaluma Dispatch-Herald), but is a little harder with niche papers.
Find something succinct, but not limiting.
Try something that lets you write a lot of different types of articles.
Instead of "The Southside Chicago Beekeepers Chronicle," try something a little broader like "Windy City Bees & Beekeepers." Always note the date and edition of the paper underneath the title.
Be sure to put your contact information or website near the title as well. , While traditional newspapers are printed and distributed physically, you can often reach a wider audience and cut printing costs by publishing online.
That said, some papers are more successful in print because they can be placed in strategic locations and promoted by local businesses.
Online newspapers tend to attract a diverse readership and can be easily marketed through social media and word of mouth.
They are also cheaper and easier to manage on the fly, as you can respond to users and publish to new stories instantly.
However, you will be competing with millions of other small papers for the same readers and online plagiarism is rampant.
A great, interactive website can also get expensive.
Print newspapers are easier to charge money for, and many consumers still like the physical experience of reading.
But the physical experience costs a lot more time, money, and energy to bring to the world, and other than "letters to the editor" you will get minimal feedback on your writing and who is reading it.
While there is nothing stopping you from being both online and in print, you should choose one or the other when you're starting out. , Whether in print or online, starting a newspaper is tough work for one person.
Between writing, editing, designing, photographing, publishing, marketing, and accounting, there are a lot of different skills that go into creating a newspaper.
While more and more jobs are needed as your paper grows, you must fill at least the following roles to get started:
Reporter:
Writes stories, covers events, and pitches new ideas to the paper.
Reporters are out in the field interviewing, collecting data, and researching the next big article to write, and produce all of your newspaper's content.
Editor:
Helps the reporter hone the story into the right length, tone, and angle for the newspaper.
Often they oversee several reporters in their section (business, sports, politics, etc.) and work as the middleman between the reporters and the editor-in-chief.
Editor-in-Chief:
The head of newspaper, she/he has the final decision on whether or not a story gets printed, what stories go where, and the direction of the paper.
In smaller papers they edit and critique stories while giving reporters guidance and advice.
Copy Editor:
Proofreads articles before they are published, looking for grammatical, syntactical, or factual errors.
Sometimes they do basic research for stories as well.
Photographer:
Accompanies a reporter on stories to capture images that complement the article.
Increasingly, web-based newspapers are requesting video and sound teams as well.
Graphic Designer:
Responsible for the look and layout of your newspaper or website as well as creating graphs, tables, and illustrations for stories.
Sometimes these roles will overlap, and sometimes you will need multiple people covering the same job.
Be flexible and recognize what your paper needs-- a newspaper about art, for example, might need an entire team of graphic designers to make a beautiful paper.
About the Author
Alice Ellis
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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