The Anatomy of a
Newspaper
Learn how to read a newspaper and
find the information you want by
learning how it is organized
The Anatomy of a Newspaper
Knowing the organization, layout, and key
features of a newspaper will help you find the
information you need in a more timely manner.
• Sections of a newspaper
• Features of a story
SECTIONS IN A
NEWSPAPER
Newspaper Sections
Newspapers are divided into different sections.
Each section contains certain kinds of stories.
• Front Page
• Local Section
• Business
• Sports
• Entertainment
• Op/Ed
Front Page
The front page of the newspaper is where the most
newsworthy stories (local, national, and
international) are placed. Editors decide if a story is
newsworthy based on news determinants.
• Timeliness
• Proximity
• Prominence
• Impact/Consequence
• Human Interest
Local Section
This is where news about where you live is
located. The stories that are more newsworthy
will be on the front of this section.
Business
The Business Section in a newspaper features
stories about businesses. If companies are
hiring, expanding, or experiencing growth, these
stories go here. The Business Section will also
feature information about money, investing, and
the stock market.
Sports
Stories about all sports are included in the
Sports Section. This includes high school (also
known as prep), semi-professional, and
professional stories. Usually there is a stats box
for different sports and a calendar for televised
sports events.
Entertainment
This section features stories about everything
entertainment. This includes book, movie, and
play reviews, stories about awards shows, and
stories about upcoming entertainment events.
Movie times are also listed here.
Op/Ed
This section is called Op/Ed, and it stands for
Opinions and Editorials. This is where editors
publish their columns and where people can
read Letters to the Editor. Any story that has
opinion written into it, meaning it is subjective,
will be in the Op/Ed section.
In what section would this story
be found?
A suicide bomber in Kabul kills 57 people and
injures hundreds more.
The Front Page Section
The Shoreline
• Sections can vary depending on the
publication
• The Shoreline
– News
– Features
– Student Voice (Op/Ed)
– Sports
– Entertainment
In what section would this story
be found?
The local, professional sports team won their
game last night.
The Sports Section
In what section would this story
be found?
A letter written to the editor
The Op/Ed Section
In what section would this story
be found?
A 7.8 earthquake hits Hawaii, and California and
Japan are currently on a tsunami warning.
The Front Page Section
In what section would this story
be found?
A review of the newest action-adventure movie
The Entertainment Section
In what section would this story
be found?
To keep up with the increasing cost of
production, the city is raising water and sewer
rates.
The Local Section
In what section would this story
be found?
Google buys Facebook in one of the largest
technology acquisitions ever.
The Front Page Section
or
The Business Section
If it is providing new news on an
older story
In what section would this story
be found?
A top investor is providing free financial advice
during an upcoming teleconference.
The Business Section
In what section would this story
be found?
A high school baseball player signs a deal with a
local minor league team.
The Sports Section
FEATURES OF A
NEWS STORY
News Story Elements
Understanding the elements • The Jump Line
and layout of a news story will • Infographic (charts, graph,
help you understand more map, etc.)
about it • Pull Quote (large quote
made to stand out to
• Column readers
• Headline
• Masthead
• Sub-headline (sub head)
• Ear
• Byline
• Index
• Dateline
• Section Number (usually
represented as a letter)
• Page Number
• Photo
• Photo Caption
• Photo Credit
The Headlines
• Headline
– Largest text on the page
– Located on the top of a story
– It grabs the reader’s attention and states what the story
is about
• Sub headline
– Slightly smaller text than the headline
– Located directly beneath the headline
– Provides readers with additional information that could
not fit in the headline
Bylines and Datelines
• Byline
– States who wrote the story
• Dateline
– States where the story was physically written
– Usually written in all capitalized letters
– On the same line where the story begins
All About the Photos
• Photos
– Help grab readers’ attention
– Help tell the story
• Photo Caption
– A statement that tells the audience what is happening in
the picture
– The caption must provide the reader with more
information than the picture can provide by itself
• Photo Credit
– Gives credit to the person who took the picture
The Jump line
• Jump line
– In print media, stories won’t always fit in the space
that they are placed
– Editors will cut off some of the story and add a jump
line SEEB 12
– The rest of the story continues in Section B on page
12
– If a story begins with FROM B3, then that is not the
true beginning of a story. You can find the beginning
of the story in Section B on page 3
B12 Section and Page Number
~~ Newspaper Times ~~ Masthead
Local Boy Named Hero Headline
Fourth grade boy is hailed a hero after
rescuing sister
Sub Head
By John Smith Byline
YOURTOWN – City officials are calling a
local fourth grade boy a hero after he
rescued his younger sister from a house Dateline
fire.
The fire broke out Photo
shortly after 4
p.m. When
emergency crews
responded to the By Ava Adams Photo Credit
This local boy is a hero
scene … SEE C8
Photo Caption
Jump Line
Assignment
• Get in a group of 2-3 students
• Dissect a newspaper as well as a news website
– Website may not contain all of the sections that a
newspaper does
• Glue and label on a large piece of construction
paper
