Newsroom hierarchy and etiquette

Hierarchy

Diagram showing the power structure of the newsroom

Within the standard model of a newsroom, the Editor is responsible for the decisions made by the entire team both legally and ethically. They have to communicate with the publisher (in the case of WINOL, our lecturers) and explain why decisions were made as well as with the entire team, particularly the executive group (or Editors), to ensure that standards are being met, feedback is being used and staff are being effectively deployed.

The Editors are the heads of their respective fields. They answer to the Editor but, depending on the type of Editor in their newsroom, should make a lot of the decisions on what is best for their area themselves. They are in charge of the what content goes onto the site and in what order as well as ensuring that deadlines are met, work is to a good standard and articles are put up onto the site promptly.

Reporters should be close to obsessed with their field and pitch their articles in a competitive manner to their Editor. They should always have at least one good story to pitch in meetings and should always aim for it to be a good, long package at the top of the bulletin rather than an OOV or just a text story and should try to film enough for this even if the Editor only wants a shorter piece as longer packages can be spiked ready to use if others fall through.

Etiquette

• Everyone should respect the news hierarchy and not undermine Editors authority (i.e. if a journalist disagrees with an editor, they should talk to them separately rather than in front of the entire group)
• Teams should work together and with other teams to ensure the best standards are met and that stories are used effectively (i.e. if a news story could also be good for a feature, journalists from both teams should work together to ensure the material is gathered for both pieces)
• All members of the newsroom should try to communicate effectively with one another
• Feedback and criticism should be professional and constructive and not taken personally
• Journalists must try not to let personal disagreements affect their professional work