Write a Newspaper

Creating your own a newspaper is the dream of journalists worldwide. Controlling your message, seeing your name in print, and exposing injustices other publications have yet to write about are just a few of the benefits to writing your own paper, but it will not come easily. You need staff, time, money, and dedication to your message to survive in the competitive media market, but you'll be halfway there if you follow these steps.

Steps

Sample Articles

Doc:Article on High School Sports,Article on Accomplished Student,Article on School Event

Starting Your Newspaper

  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. [1]
    • 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.
  2. Choose a good name. 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.
  3. Choose between a paper or online newspaper. 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. [2]
    • 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.
  4. Develop a news staff. 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. [3]

Writing News Stories

  1. Find a story that is unique, compelling, informative, or important to your audience. "A dog biting a man is not news," states an old journalism cliché, "but a man biting a dog is." News stories need to have an impact on their readers by exposing something they didn't already know. As you are brainstorming, ask yourself if the story is relevant to your community, if there something unique or out-of-the-ordinary, or if it sheds light on a previously mysterious event or phenomenon.
    • A good reporter bears witness to a person, event, or trend that a reader could not see on their own.
    • The best news stories contain a little bit of everything by bringing a new and fresh perspective to the world. [4]
  2. Do thorough research. No matter what your topic, readers turn to newspapers to learn something, and they have the assumption that what they are reading is true. If an article is inaccurate or false then it does not matter how good the writing is -- the article has failed. You can prevent this by researching fully before you write, using a variety of sources, and looking into any facts that feel fishy or incorrect.
    • Always take notes while you do research, and keep a log of your sources in case a story's veracity is questioned.
    • Never use only one source of information-- interview more than one person, consult more than one book, and dig as deep into the topic as you possibly can.
    • Ask your sources if they can recommend anyone else to talk to, or further events worth covering. [5]
  3. Learn the five W's of news writing. At minimum, a news article needs to cover five basic questions about your subject: Who, What, Where, When, & Why. While artfully told stories and poetic language make a story better, a newspaper article doesn't work if it cannot provide the reader with these basic facts. While some of these points may be less important than others depending on the story, they should all be covered at some point.
    • List these five words out on a sheet of paper and fill them in before you begin writing. If you're missing one, go back and find the answer.
    • Many articles need to go further by answering "How?" or "So What?" to fully explore the story. [6]
  4. Write a compelling lead line. The lead is the first sentence of a story, and it needs to both grab the reader and tell them exactly what the story is about. Short, punchy, and informative, the lead is the most important sentence in the article and is usually the hardest part of the story to write.
    • The lead line needs to contain the central idea of the story. If you're writing about a possible peace deal, don't write "US and Iraq met yesterday to talk." Say, "Yesterday, American and Iraqi diplomats began peace-keeping negotiations for the first time in a decade." [7]
  5. Use the traditional "inverted pyramid" to tell the most important information first. Your first paragraph should contain the most relevant information to the story so that anyone reading it knows more or less what happened. This is your pyramid's base. You then adds specific facts and ideas by expanding from the points made in the first paragraph. This allows readers to be informed no matter where they quit reading
    • While the opening paragraph does not need to contain all "five W's," it should cover the most essential ones.
    • As you write ask yourself: "if an editor cut my story after this paragraph, would it still feel complete?" Space restrictions in print papers make this a very real possibility. [8]
  6. Remain objective while you write. Being objective, or sticking to facts and figures instead of your opinions, is at the center of a writer's trustworthiness. People read the news to get information and they trust that it will not be biased. If you are a liberal who is assigned to write about the local Republican town meeting, for example, you do not want to insult or deride the politicians you are covering.
    • Research all viewpoints equally on controversial subjects. If you interview the lawyer defending a criminal, for example, you should interview the prosecutor as well, no matter what you think of the case.
    • If there is a conflict of interest, such as reporting a scandal at your parents' business, you should ask another reporter to cover the story.
  7. Proofread and double-check your facts. Nothing can derail a reporter's credibility faster than typos and incorrect facts. Make sure you've accurately quoted sources and that you've formatted your article correctly.
    • try to cut any words, sentences, or phrases that are unnecessary to the story. People appreciate brevity and want to get right to the facts.
  8. Choose one or more pictures that are representative of your story. The best photo-journalism tells a version of the story all by itself. Since space is often limited in papers you need to pick the one or two photos that best represent your article so that anyone thumbing through has an idea what they'll be reading.
    • If you are publishing online you may have the ability to post as many pictures as you want. Still, you want the first picture a reader sees to be the best one you have.
    • Never stage a photo, steal a photo you found online, or photograph people without their permission. [9]
    • Use a consistent format for your newspaper. You can download free style guides for the most common newspaper formats, Associated Press and APA, online. [10]
    • No matter what style you choose (AP, APA, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.) make sure every reporter sticks to the same style guide.
    • Have someone else check your article to insure that you didn't miss anything on your own.

Formatting Your Paper

  1. Choose the most relevant or compelling stories for the front page. Just like the lead line draws people into your article, the front page story needs to draw people into your paper. Choose a story that is relevant, timely, or especially unique and make sure you have a quality picture accompanying it.
    • Think about what story will grab the most people's attention. It may be a dramatic sporting event, or a piece of breaking-news, but no matter what it needs to have wide appeal.
  2. Craft attention-grabbing headlines. Usually the editors, not the reporters, write headlines. The goal is to give the reader a brief, catchy hint at what the story is about without giving away the entire article. The best headlines are short and eye-catching and promises the reader new information, or force them to ask a question they want answered.
    • Use numbers whenever possible. They communicate a lot of information without a lot of space.
    • Use active language, interesting adjectives, and expressive verbs. Ex. "Rouge Deer Smashes into Deli Window." [11]
  3. Create different sections to help the reader navigate. This is crucial the bigger the paper gets. No matter how good your stories, some people only pick up a paper to read sports, or check out the opinion pages, or do the puzzles. Group similar articles together in a format that works for you, and remain consistent in every issue so your readers become comfortable.
    • Put a small table of contents on the first page or your homepage to help people search.
    • Order your paper so that your most compelling sections come near the front. [12]
  4. Find advertisers willing to pay for ads. Whether online or in print, having paid advertisements is essential if you ever want to turn a profit on your newspaper -- subscriptions and sales are too small of a market to rely on completely. Once you determine how much space you want to devote to ads, ask friends and local businesses if they want to take out an ad, or if they know anyone who does.
    • Give potential buyers options at different price ranges: small, black and white ads are cheap, but full page color advertisements are going to cost a lot extra.
    • Many blogs and websites allow you to sign up for already designed advertising programs, where you get paid per advertisement clicked. Check your website host or use Google AdSense to find advertisers for free. [13]
  5. Understand the basic principles of newspaper layout. Once you've chosen your stories and ads, you need to decide where they all go. Also know as paste-up, laying out your newspaper is a full-time job requiring journalism, design, and computer skills. Today, desktop software such as Scribus (free), Serif PagePlus (cheap) or Adobe InDesign provides templates and tools to create any layout you can imagine. In general, newspaper layout has only a few hard and fast rules:
    • Remember, clarity before everything else. If it is difficult to read or find articles then you need a new design.
    • Edit, cut, or change stories to make them fit if you need.
    • Bold and center your headlines so they stand out.
    • Never use anything smaller than an 11-point font.
    • Use no more than two fonts to prevent confusion and clutter.
    • Be sure to Convert an RGB File to a CMYK File in Photoshop color scheme instead of the default RGB, as ink printers refer to CMYK when printing.
    • Fill up any remaining space with ads, puzzles, comics, or miscellaneous stories. [12]
    • Look up some of your favorite designs, or research some award winning newspaper layouts for ideas if you're stuck.

Distributing Your Paper

  1. Find your target audience. Now that you have some articles and a paper, you need to know who is most likely to read it. Search online for articles that are similar to yours and see who reads them, and talk to local businesses or vendors where other newspapers are distributed.
    • Take your audience's suggestions to heart and respond to their needs and wants when you can.
    • Become a Social Media Expert to Boost Your Business by posting content regularly and searching for like-minded individuals who would be interested in your paper.
    • Don't be afraid to republish some of your early articles in other newspapers and news blogs -- just make sure they credit your original paper!
  2. If you are going the physical route, find a printer that meets your needs. Printing machines can be expensive and take up a lot of space, so if your paper is in low circulation you probably wait to buy your own. Call local print shops or other local papers to see how they print their newspapers, and be ready to spend some money.
    • Color ink will always be more expensive than a purely black and white paper.
    • Think about how many pages you want or can afford before collecting articles.
    • There are online newspaper printers that sell 300 newspapers for roughly $300, but they may not be your best deal if you can find a local printer who will set up a regular contract. [14]
  3. If you are going the web route, invest in a website. Many blogging platforms offer intuitive controls for designing a website to use, but if you are really serious about starting a news platform you need to invest in a custom built website. Until you have serious readership, however, consider a free site like Wordpress, Blogger, or Tumblr to get the ball rolling.
    • Consider buying the domain name for your paper, like www.TheWikiHowTimes.com, so that you look professional to readers and potential advertisers.
  4. Continue producing content. No matter what your platform, you're going to need to keep writing articles and publishing pictures to keep readers coming back. Skipping a week's print edition or abandoning your blog for a few days tells people that you aren't serious about reporting the news and they will find other sources that post more frequently.
    • The more you produce, the more likely it is that someone will read it and be entertained. This means more viewers, referrals, and readers in the future. [15]

Tips

  • Sell your newspaper for a reasonable price, or give it for free if you only want advertising money.
  • For free software, try OpenOffice.org writer for word-processing, Scribus for layout and GIMP for photo editing; all these are open-source options that you can use to put your paper together.
  • Make sure everyone knows what his/her task is and completes that task. Keep your newsroom as organized as possible - when you're trying to go to press it is very stressful when you can't find what you need!
  • For commercial software then check eBay or other online shops for inexpensive or used software. Adobe InDesign CS or PageMaker, are for layout and output, Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint are resizing and color-correcting photos, Microsoft Word or Word Perfect are word-processing and Adobe Acrobat Professional if for fine tuning PDF documents used by most printing shops today.

Warnings

  • Layout can be frustrating when you're trying to make the articles fit exactly right. Take your time, and be ready to cut articles if need be.
  • Fact check your work. In a newspaper, all articles are expected to be true without any mistakes in them.

Related Articles

  • Write a Newspaper (for Kids)

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://allindiewriters.com/101-niches-to-write-about/
  2. ↑ http://associationmediaandpublishing.org/sidebar/Digital-vs-Print-Which-is-Better-For-You
  3. ↑ http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/castl_k12/ewojcicki2/starting/staff_structure.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.ohlone.edu/people/bparks/docs/basicnewswriting.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/21028678
  6. ↑ http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/news/write-stories.html
  7. ↑ http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/isaacs/client_edit/Mencher.html
  8. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/04/
  9. ↑ https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics
  10. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/02/
  11. ↑ http://goinswriter.com/catchy-headlines/
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 http://www.makemynewspaper.com/starting-a-profitable-newspaper
  13. ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159412
  14. ↑ http://www.newspaperclub.com/prices
  15. ↑ http://www.brafton.com/blog/publishing-daily-content-help-web-marketing
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