VOL. XVII, NO. 2
OCTOBER 14, 1975
My Turn
Many People Create Paper
Many People Create Paper
By THOM O'DONNELL
Every two or three weeks, Maine West students dutifully read their Westerner, throw it away, and wait for the next issue. This Pall seems very simple, but it's not. Where do these issues come from?
Newspapers don't simply appear from nowhere on Friday (or in this case, Tuesday) mornings. Someone must write, edit, copy read, set into type, and proofread all these stories. Photographs must be taken. Who does all this and how is it done?
The Westerner staff meets each day to discuss future issues. After deciding which articles are the most newsworthy, signup sheets are placed in the journalism classroom for reporters to assign themselves stories.
The reporters then research information and interview sources. They write their stories and turn them in to the editors about a week before the date of issue.
All stories are then read and copy read by the editors, and the best written stories are published in the Westerner. If the story is longer than the amount of space the editor has allotted on the page, the story will be shortened. The page editor then chooses the pictures. The art editor arranges to have the pictures taken, and writes the cutlines for the pictures when they are received.
Every two or three weeks, Maine West students dutifully read their Westerner, throw it away, and wait for the next issue. This Pall seems very simple, but it's not. Where do these issues come from?
Newspapers don't simply appear from nowhere on Friday (or in this case, Tuesday) mornings. Someone must write, edit, copy read, set into type, and proofread all these stories. Photographs must be taken. Who does all this and how is it done?
The Westerner staff meets each day to discuss future issues. After deciding which articles are the most newsworthy, signup sheets are placed in the journalism classroom for reporters to assign themselves stories.
The reporters then research information and interview sources. They write their stories and turn them in to the editors about a week before the date of issue.
All stories are then read and copy read by the editors, and the best written stories are published in the Westerner. If the story is longer than the amount of space the editor has allotted on the page, the story will be shortened. The page editor then chooses the pictures. The art editor arranges to have the pictures taken, and writes the cutlines for the pictures when they are received.
After all this work is done and the headlines written, the work is brought to the printer to be set into type. A linotype operator types on a linotype machine which leaves backward impressions of the letters in the lead molds that are formed by the machine. These pieces are then placed on a galley tray for the editor‑in‑chief and the adviser to proofread, after a sample sheet has been printed from it.
The errors on these sample sheets are noted in the margins and the printer corrects the mistakes before the editors begin to put the page together.
The galley sheets are cut and pasted on large sheets of paper in the order and shape they will appear on the page. This sheet is then taken back to the printer for him to set the lead images in the correct order to be printed.
A sample copy of the page is then printed for the editors to take one last look at the articles as they will appear. Any mistakes missed at this stage stay in the paper, but by this time very few are left.
The errors on these sample sheets are noted in the margins and the printer corrects the mistakes before the editors begin to put the page together.
The galley sheets are cut and pasted on large sheets of paper in the order and shape they will appear on the page. This sheet is then taken back to the printer for him to set the lead images in the correct order to be printed.
A sample copy of the page is then printed for the editors to take one last look at the articles as they will appear. Any mistakes missed at this stage stay in the paper, but by this time very few are left.