News articles are written by journalists to inform the public about current events. They often feature news, commentary, and analysis, and can be found in print, online, on television and radio. Most newspapers have a staff of writers, photographers, columnists and other professionals. They usually work under the supervision of a senior editor, who may be called an editor-in-chief, executive editor or other title. A newspaper’s editor is responsible for selecting stories, writing headlines and editing the content. He or she also assigns tasks to reporters and oversees the quality of work produced by the rest of the staff. In large newspapers, a senior editor is often in overall charge of all subjects while less senior editors are each in charge of particular subject areas, such as local or sports news.
Throughout the English-speaking world, newspapers are typically published daily. Typically, they are split into sections for different subjects such as national and international news, politics, crime, health, sports, entertainment, etc. The person who selects the content for each of these sections is called an editor, and at larger publications, the editorial staff is generally organized into departments based on the type of information being covered, with a general manager or director in charge of each department. Each editor is assigned a number of story assignments to edit each day and may be aided by sub-editors, proofreaders and fact checkers.
In addition to regular news, most traditional newspapers also contain opinion pieces that express the views of the editorial board or guest writers on a topical issue. Opinions of readers are expressed in op-eds, and letters to the editor are also a feature. Throughout the history of newspaper publishing, there have been several ways to improve the credibility of a paper including the appointment of ombudsmen and developing ethics policies, implementing stringent corrections policies, communicating with sources and giving them a chance to review articles before they are printed.
In the early days of the United States, daily newspapers were able to achieve high market penetration, with almost every household receiving one. However, as other media outlets developed and printing costs dropped, market penetration eroded. In the US, in particular, this decline was accelerated by the advent of television and the introduction of new forms of electronic media such as the internet. Today, newspaper publishers are working hard to make their publications as relevant as possible to their readers, and many have redesigned their websites in an attempt to compete with the myriad of other choices for news and information available on the Internet.