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Newspaper journalist: Job description and activities

Job description

Newspaper journalists, or reporters, source, research and write stories for publication in local, regional and national press - and, increasingly, newspaper websites.

Junior reporters are allocated work from the news desk and submit stories to the news editor, who passes it on to a team of sub-editors. Some multi-tasking may be involved on smaller papers, covering functions such as photography, sub-editing, illustration and layout.

Journalists cover all sorts of topics, including: news; politics; culture; sport; science; local and national events; entertainment; lifestyle, and 'human interest' stories. Correspondents cover specific geographical areas, or specialist subjects. Feature writers produce more in-depth pieces with a personal voice.

Typical work activities

There is no such thing as a typical day in newspaper journalism, but reporters may be involved in the following:

• interviewing people in a range of different circumstances - for example, those experiencing distress (e.g. bereaved relatives), good fortune (e.g. lottery winners), celebrity success, or those affected by or involved in making political decisions (e.g. in relation to hospital reorganisation);
• building contacts to maintain a flow of news, e.g. police and emergency services, local council, community organisations, health trusts, press officers from a variety of organisations, the general public, etc;
• seeking out and investigating stories via your contacts, press releases, other media, etc;
• attending press conferences and asking questions;
• attending a variety of events, such as council meetings, magistrates' court proceedings, football matches, talent contests, etc;
• manning 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 papers may have several each day;
• writing short ‘fillers’ to entertain, and researching and writing longer feature articles, sometimes for subsidiary publications - e.g. supplements;
• creating and uploading news content for the newspaper website.

AGCAS

Written by Rowena Forbes, University of Manchester

Last updated:

October 2007

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