Journalism in General

There are many definitions of journalism, but the most familiar ones are those given by
Noah Webster, by Fraser Bond, and by the encyclopedia. The word journal comes from
the Latin word diurna which means ‘daily.” In ancient Rojie, short bulletins of battles,
fires and elections compiled by government officials were posted up in public places.
These were called acta diurna which meant daily events.”
Webster defines journalism as “the occupation of writing for publication in newspapers
and other periodicals.
Fraser F. Bond, on the other hand defines it as “something that embraces all forms in
which or through which the news and comments on the news reach the public.”
According to him, all that happens in the world, if such happenings hold interest for the
public, and all the thoughts, actions, and ideas which these happenings stimulate,
become basic materials for the journalist. High School journalism has been defined by
school paper advisers of the City Schools of Manila as that enjoyable co-curricular
activity of the school paper staff in collecting, organizing, and presenting news; in writing
editorials, columns, literary articles, sports stories and features, in copy reading,
proofreading, dummying, and writing headlines – all for the purpose of putting out a
school organ.”
Scope of Journalism - Journalism may be divided into three areas, namely: written,
oral, and visual. Periodicals such as newspapers and magazines fall under written
journalism. A periodical, defined broadly, is a publication that comes out at regular
intervals –daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or annually. A
newspaper, as compared to a magazine, prints more news, has no special cover, and is
printed on a special paper called newsprint. News is printed on the front page, as well
as on the inside and the back pages. A magazine, on the other hand, prints more
features and human interest stories, has a special cover usually with a big cut on it, and
is often printed on book paper. If ever news is printed, it is brief, featured, and found in
the inside pages. Periodicals brochures journals, books and graphic arts are classified
under print media. Radio falls under oral journalism, while television, movies, and
documentaries are under visual journalism.
Journalism in General Radio and television are examples of broadcast media, while
movies and documentaries are examples of film media. A campus paper is a
publication, either mimeographed or printed, put out by staff members whose names
appear in the masthead or editorial box. The campus paper has many functions. The
traditional roles of the campus paper were specified by Harold Spears and C.H. Lawshe
Jr. in their book, An Introduction to Journalism.
A. Aid to the students
1. Provides an opportunity for interesting writing.
2. Gives students the opportunity to learn how to read the newspapers. 3. Acts as a
stimulus to better work
4. Develops students power of observation and discrimination concerning relative
merits of news articles.
5. Serve as an outlet and motivation for journalistic writing.
6. Offers training in organization, business methods, commercial art, salesmanship,
bookkeeping, and business management.
7. Develops qualities of cooperation, tact, accuracy, tolerance, responsibility, and
leadership.

B. Aid to the school and community

1. Informs the community on the work of the school
2. Publishes school news
3. Creates anf expresses school opinion.
4. Makes known the achievements of the school.
5. Helps unify the school.
6. Encourages and stimulus worthwhile activities.
7. Develops right standard of conduct.
8. Provides an outlet for student suggestions for the betterment of the school.
9. Develops better interschool relationship.
10. Develops school spirit.
11. Develops cooperation between parents and the school.
The modern campus paper has evolved other functions. Briefly explained, they
are:
1. Information function—it informs the readers of events that happened, that are
happening, or that will still happen. This is its news function. But information may also
come from the features, editorials, and other sections of the school paper.
 2. Opinion function—through the editorials and editorial columns, the editor interprets
the meaning of the news, especially of the banner news, and give his opinion of
important matters or of significant events of the day.
3. Education function—one of the most important functions of a modern campus paper
is to educate not only the students but also the people in the community. Sex education
and family planning, which used to be taboo in classrooms are now topics of discussion
by student writers in their school organs.
4. Watchdog function—the school paper acts as the guardian of the student9s
rights. It serves as the eyes of the readers.
5. Laboratory Function – It serves as the teaching tool for budding journalists.
Neophytes pattern their new experiences from the existing and past papers.
6. Documentation function—Important school events and worthwhile student
accomplishments and achievements are recorded in the school paper for posteritys
sake. Most present-day histories have been researched from old files of newspaper.
6. Entertainment function—the school paper, like an interesting book, keeps the
reader company specially when he is alone. Most human interest stories are very
interesting to read.
7. Developmental Function—In a developing country like the Philippines, scholastic, as
well as commercial journalism, has been given nobler significance. The young writer
who used to spend more time reporting on club activities like elections and parties, and
writing lines to Delilah, has graduated into a development journalist. As such, he
has included his community in his beat, and sometimes touches on topics of national
significance.

Section or Parts of a Campus Paper

Whether it is a community, metropolitan, or national paper, its parts and sections are
more or less the same. Traditionally, these are:
A. Front Page
1. Local news- news that takes place within the country
2. Foreign news- News that takes place outside the county
3. Dateline news- an out-of-town news story. It is introduced by a dateline which stated
the place from which the story was reported, the date, and the source of the material if
not written by the local staff, as Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 25 (AP).
4. Weather news- usually a boxed forecast of the area, sometimes includes the
temperature, wind directions, and velocities. Extremes on weather are reported as more
detailed news stories.
5. Index- a slug line indicating an important inside page story and the page where it is
found.
6. Other things found on the Front Page:
A. Nameplate- the engraved or printed name of the newspaper, as the Manila Times or
PNU Torch.
B. Ears- the little boxes on either side of the nameplate.
C. Banner- The principal headline bearing the boldest and biggest type. It is the title of
the most important news of the day which is called banner news. It may or may not run
across the page. If it does, it may also be called a streamer.
D. Running head- A headline made up of two or more lines.
E. Headline- the title of any news story. The world headline is used only for titles of
news stories.
F. Deck-A subordinate headline placed immediately below its mother headline, also
known as bank or readout.
g. Lead- The beginning of a news story. It may be a word, a group of words, a sentence,
or ven a paragraph.
H. News Story- The whole story of an event composed of the lead and the text which is
the elaboration of the lead.
i. Columns- the horizontal division into parts of a newspaper. Many national
papers are divided into eight columns while a typical school paper is divided into five
columns of 12 em each.
J. Column rule- the vertical line that divides the page into columns. Most pages of
newspaper are divided into columns by a space usually one em wide. This space is
called the sunken rule.
K. Fold- the imaginary horizontal line that divides the newspaper equally into two parts.
L. Byline- the signature of a reporter preceding a news feature, as By Warren Cruz.
M. Box- News materials enclosed by line rules.
N. Cut- a metal plate bearing a newspaper’s illustration, also known as cliché
O. Cutline- The text accompanying photos and other art word better known as a
caption. If written above the photo just like a slugline, it is called an overline.
P. Kicker- A tagline placed above but smaller than a headline, also known as teaser. If it
is bigger than the headline, it is called a hammer.
Q. Credit line-a line giving the source of the story, or illustration, as reprinted from
“Manila times”

B. Editorial Page

Folio: A folio usually contains the page number, the date of publication and the name of
the newspaper. (The name of the newspaper can also be found in the front page but it is
intentionally reprinted in the editorial page and other special pages.)

Masthead : The masthead is the editorial box containing the logo of the newspaper,
names and positions of the staff, subscription rate, the publisher and other pertinent
information about the newspaper.

Editorial Proper: The editorial proper is the commentary made by any of the editors
(usually, of the editor-in-chief) on any subject. It is the stand of the paper for the day.

Editorial Column: Editorial columns are special types of columns intended and reserved
for the writing editor. Like the editorial proper, it can deal with various topics and it is
where the paper establishes its stand.

Editorial Cartoon: The editorial cartoon stands by itself. This means that it is an editorial
proper or news by itself. It does not have to have any relationship with the editorial
column of with the editorial proper. It is usually an exaggerated cartoon intended to be
so to create humor. It deals with a simple point which is usually concerned with the
current hottest issue.

Editorial Liner: The editorial liner is simply a line of quotations or message placed below
the editorial proper or column. Letter to the Editor: This part is like a transparent mailbox
of the newspaper containing a message from the reader sharing his own perspectives.

C. Sports Page

Sports stories are classified as news stories; therefore, what may be found in the news
page may also be found in the sports section. Other things may be found in the sports
section are the sports commentaries and sports features.

D. Special Features

The modern newspaper has taken some special features and eliminated some which
have become irrelevant to the needs of the times. An example of this is the society
page.