 Newspaper
is a publication devoted chiefly to presenting and commenting
on the news. Newspapers provide an excellent means of keeping
well informed on current events. They also play a vital role
in shaping public opinion.
Newspapers have certain advantages over the other major news
media-television, radio, and newsmagazines. For example, newspapers
can cover more news and in much greater detail than can television
and radio newscasts. Newsmagazines concentrate on the chief
national and international events of the preceding week. But
daily newspapers report local as well as national and international
news-and on a day-to-day basis.
 A
large daily newspaper provides a great variety of information.
News stories cover the latest developments in such fields as
government, politics, sports, science, business, and the arts.
Other news stories report crimes, disasters, and special events
of human interest. Editorials and columns of opinion comment
on controversial issues. Informative feature articles examine
a wide range of subjects, including fashions, health, and children
care. Comic strip, advice columns, and other entertainment items
also appear regularly in most daily papers.
Producing a daily newspaper requires great speed and efficiency.
Reporters, editors, and photographers work under the constant
pressure of deadlines. A large daily also employs many other
workers, including advertising salespeople, artists, librarians,
printing-press operators, and truckdrivers. The entire staff
must operate as a well-drilled team if the papers are to reach
homes and newsstands on schedule.
 Newspaper
is printed on coarse paper called newsprint. There are two major
sizes of newspapers-standard and tabloid. A standard-sized newspaper
has pages that measure about 15 by 23 inches (38 by 58 centimeters).
The pages of a tabloid are about half that size.
The standard and tabloid sizes are both used in publishing
all types of newspapers. The three main kinds of papers are
(1) daily newspapers, (2) weekly newspapers, and (3) special-interest
newspapers. Daily newspapers print world, national, state, and
local news. They also carry editorials, opinion columns, feature
articles, and entertainment items. Weekly newspapers, in general,
serve much smaller areas than daily papers and publish news
of a more personal nature. Special-interest newspapers print
news of concern to particular groups.
The number of people needed to produce a newspaper varies
greatly. The smallest weekly papers have only 1 to 3 workers,
who do everything from writing the news, to selling ads, to
running the press. Some larger weeklies employ 10 to 30 people.
The largest metropolitan dailies have 2,000 or more employees.
The staff of a large metropolitan daily is headed by the publisher,
who in some cases owns the paper. The staff of such a paper
is divided into three main departments: (1)the editorial department,
(2) the business department, and (3) the mechanical department.
Newspaper in most countries have far fewer pages than do those
in the United States. Many papers in other countries have no
more than 8 or 10 pages. They devote more of their stories to
political and governmental affairs, and they have fewer ads
and features.
Sweden leads the world in newspaper readership with about
572 copies sold daily for every 1,000 people. Other countries
with exceptionally high newspaper readership include Japan,
Germany, and Finland. Newspaper circulation in the United States
averages about 287 copies for every 1,000 people. In general,
newspaper circulations are large in industrialized nations.
Poverty and illiteracy restrict readership in developing countries.
In some nations, the government controls to some extent what
newspapers may publish. Governmental control of the news media
is the strongest in Communist nations. In these nations, the
government owns and operates the media. Many countries in Africa,
Asia, and Latin America severely restrict press freedom. In
these countries, the government controls the press through censorship
or through laws that make it dangerous to criticize the government.
Only a small minority of the nations of the world allow newspapers
to print any news they wish. Freedom of the press exists mainly
in English-speaking nations, in most of the countries of Western
Europe, and in Israel and Japan.
A story from a student
Respect for All
By Michelle DiClementi
There have been several instances at Capital High School
where students have shown disrespect toward someone who is
different.
These are not the memories we want to create at our school.
We need to accept each other's differences.
Name calling, pushing, and disregard for personal property
are all negative situations that need to be eliminated at
Capital.
As for people showing disrespect, Mr. Anders responded,
“I think it is very upsetting and once is too much. We
should be respectful of everyone's individuality.”
He said, “Although staff can help monitor how students
treat other students, ultimately it's up to the students to
advocate for those peers who are being teased and harassed.”
Everyone just wants to be treated like everyone else and
everyone deserves a chance to fit in.
——From Olympia Capital High School Newspaper,
January 26th, 2001
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