There has been a consistent theme throughout my blogs regarding the analysis of newspapers, and that is the issue of journalistic objectivity. I will continue to keep this matter front and center within my own newspaper, because I believe it is important as journalists’ to remember the rules of our craft. Sadly, many news outlets are disregarding one of the first things we are taught in journalism concerning impartiality. With this said, my newspaper will be a fair and balanced medium, and this approach will eventually lead to a strong and dedicated following. My readers will know that what they read is unbiased reporting and true by verification. Moreover, the employees that work for the newspaper will have to substantiate any or all sources tediously before their stories are allowed for print. This newspaper will be a print version and circulated daily around the New York Metropolitan area. The reason for choosing print is so that it will be accessible to everyone. Also, I feel a daily circulation is the best way to keep up with current events, especially when trying to compete with other news outlets that may not be so trustworthy. My target audience will be men and women, ages eighteen and up and of all ethnic and racial background. In addition, the newspaper will offer translation into any language of choice on the newspaper’s website. The content of the newspaper will focus mainly on current events that are taking place all over the world as well as locally and nationally. Therefore, the editorial section will make up approximately 41 percent of the newspaper. I will also include an opinion, sports, and entertainment section which will total around 33 percent. Additionally, there will be a satirical section which will contain parodies in the form of cartoons, quotes, or short stories. I feel it is important to inject humor into a newspaper, especially when most of the stories being reported on tend to be too depressing to read. Finally, corporate advertisement and a classifieds section will be available as well, and that will make up the remaining 26 percent of the newspaper. As most of us know, it is not feasible to run a newspaper without advertisements, because that is where most of the money is generated from in order to pay for the production of the paper. With this said, that is why I feel 26 percent is a decent amount of space to hold in reserve for these advertisements, so that I will be able to pay the bills and my staff. As my blog continues, I will go more in depth about what will be advertised in the newspaper, and I will also discuss the types of goods and services that will be found within the classifieds section. I will also provide a caveat that reads: For the fair-minded only!
My 24-page print newspaper will be called The Independent Express, with a subtitle that reads: The Guardian of Freethinkers. The website, indepress.com will be updated daily, and with the click of a button translation will be available for almost all languages. The mission statement will read as follows:
Our objective is to provide an autonomous viewpoint assuring sound investigative reporting and revealing stories that other news outlets unintentionally omit or purposefully decide to disregard. It will be our duty to make sure our readers are being informed properly and responsibly by reviving credible objective journalism. Moreover, our website indepress.com, will deliver breaking news as it happens in almost any language requested, and it will also work as a forum for our viewers to opine about their personal feelings on any issue relevant to them. However, we ask that it be done in a mature and respectful manner. We do not want to trend with what’s happening in today’s news outlets, which is the labeling of persons and stories as either “left” or “right.” At The Independent Express, our goal is to avoid and not conform to this new style of journalism, because we feel this type of reporting inhibits the truth from being told and instead allows for misinformation to be sold to the public. In the end, this not only hurts the individual, but it also harms our republic as a whole. We thank you for your readership, and we look forward to being The Guardian of Freethinkers.
First, I will discuss the editorial section of my newspaper. The editorial sections of newspapers’ focus on the opinions and feelings of the newspaper as a whole and are written by the editorial board members. For my newspaper, I will dedicate this section on investigative journalism by having my staff play the role of detective not only for the topics being reported on, but also for finding out how other news agencies are reporting the same stories. In other words, I will be investigating the investigators to see if these other journalists and communicators are reporting the events accurately and fairly. As my newspaper becomes more established as a source for exposing inaccuracy, I predict that this will frighten as well as infuriate some journalists, bloggers, and commentators, because now it will not be so easy to get away with rhetoric.
The op-ed, or “opposite of the editor” section will be one of the few areas where I will allow opinions of others to be permissible. Although my newspaper will act as a truth table, it is essential to have an opinionated section so that we may assess what others are thinking regarding an important subject. Nevertheless, this will not take up much of my newspaper.
The type of news that will be featured in my newspaper will cover topics happening locally, nationally, and internationally. I chose to report the news this way so that my audience will be well-rounded and gain knowledge on almost every important topic being spotlighted. Along with this, I will also make sure that my newspaper covers topics that may intentionally or unintentionally get over-looked. We will not conform to the trends of other newspapers by only reporting what they report. If we feel that a story deserves attention even though it may not be considered significant elsewhere, we will make it our business to include that story in The Independent Express. The next section of my newspaper is not intended to diminish the seriousness of any topic or current event taking place at the moment. The parody section of The Independent Express will create some laughter in our readers and take away some of the stress or sadness they may feel after reading some of the more serious stories featured earlier on in the newspaper. I can say from personal experience, that after I read the newspaper or watch the news, I feel a sense of gloom and doom. Then, after looking at a satirical cartoon in the newspaper or hearing a broadcaster make a joke, the frown on my face turns to a smile or I let out a little laugh. Thus, I feel it is a good idea to insert humor into somber issues.
The Independent Express will also have a sports and entertainment section, which will cover a myriad of topics. Some examples of these topics will include movie reviews, movie openings, theatre reviews, a list of Broadway shows, and any other related themes. However, I do not want the entertainment section of my newspaper to look like tabloid fodder, so I will not allow too much chatter regarding celebrities and their personal lives as well as too much talk of their children. With this said, if there is a story that relates to a celebrity that deserves recognition and can be verified completely, then I will accept it into the newspaper. The sports section will cover popular American games such as football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. Additionally, my newspaper will cover more women oriented sports such as volleyball, tennis, gymnastics, and soccer.
Lastly, the advertising and classified section of The Independent Express will consist of ads that reflect a diverse audience. I will have major corporations like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue advertise their goods. In addition to these companies, I will have H & M, Target, and Walmart advertisements which market goods that are more affordable than the former group of companies mentioned. Moreover, fashion designers will be able to sell their products in my newspaper. The designer clothing and accessories displayed will target people of all demographics, sizes and class. The classified section will also provide a myriad of information such as job postings for almost any kind of work available, real estate, housing, vocational training, colleges, internships, etc. Furthermore, these listings will be able to accommodate all types of ethnic backgrounds and age groups. To reiterate, the newspaper website indepress.com will translate any information found in the newspaper and on line into almost any language with the click of a button. This would be done by either manual typing or voice translation, which is similar to a lot of the apps found on smart phones. For example, my maternal grandmother speaks very little English because her first language is Italian. Because I am not fluent in the language, it was hard for me to communicate with her. However, with the help of modern technology, I can now use an app on my phone to help with translation. I’ve always said this would be a great tool to incorporate into websites, therefore eliminating the stress of not being able to communicate or read with someone or something.
To conclude, The Independent Express will be a well-organized, well-rounded newspaper that caters to all types of people from all different backgrounds. My staff and I will do the best job we can, so that we live up to our own expectations of ourselves. But my staff and I will do more than this, which brings me to my last and final section of the newspaper. I will dedicate a section of the newspaper to any college student majoring in journalism. In this section, I will ask future journalists’ to send the newspaper, via email or conventional mail, a 2000 word essay or blog on a topic of their choice. Then, my staff and I will pick the best three pieces, and we will publish them in the newspaper. In addition to this, there will be a final contest for the three essays or blogs chosen, and whichever piece wins, that person will be granted an internship at The Independent Express. I feel this is a great way to pay homage to the profession of journalism, and to also witness what the future of journalism looks like. At my newspaper, these bright students who win our contests will be given an opportunity of a lifetime as well as a jumpstart to their career. After all, we will eventually need to pass down the torch and who better than these new journalists’ who will then become the new Guardian of Freethinkers
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