Newspaper journalist: Job description

Newspaper journalists research and write stories for national, regional and local press. As well as news and politics, they report on sports, arts and culture, science and business. They also cover national and local events, entertainment and human interest stories.

Traditionally, junior reporters write up stories allocated to them by the news desk. They pass these to the news editor who in turn hands them to sub-editors. Other roles include correspondents, who are specialists in one field or location, and feature writers, who cover topics in greater depth, often using a more personal style.

On smaller newspapers many journalists have to multitask; they may work on layout, photography and sub-editing as well as stories. Newspaper journalism is becoming increasingly 'multi-platform', making IT, web and broadcast skills highly valued.

Typical work activities

Tasks include:

• interviewing people in a range of different circumstances;
• building contacts to maintain a flow of news, for example, police and emergency services, local council, community groups, health trusts, press officers from a variety of organisations, the general public, etc;
• seeking out and investigating stories via your contacts, press releases and other media;
• attending press conferences and asking questions;
• attending a variety of events, such as council meetings, magistrates' court proceedings, football matches, talent contests, etc;
• answering the phones on the news desk and reacting to breaking news stories;
• working closely with the news team, photographers and editors;
• recording interviews and meetings using shorthand or technical equipment;
• producing concise and accurate copy according to the newspaper's house style, and to strict deadlines - daily newspapers may have several each day;
• writing short 'fillers' to entertain, and researching and writing longer feature articles, sometimes for subsidiary publications and supplements;
• creating and uploading news content for the newspaper website;
• 'live' online reporting or real-time blogging when covering important events - a growing area of work, especially on national newspapers.