Communications and Media

How Newspapers are structured
According to Allen and Groth (in Martin Copeland 2003) a newspaper is a periodic publication that is mechanically produced and available for those who pay for it and has content that is varied, general, timely and organised. This definition is not all-inclusive because it does not take into account the earlier forms of newspapers, which were not mechanically produced

History of Newspapers and their Structure
Carved stoneMetal periodicals Man has constantly used print media to spread news and happenings to the world. The earliest form of newspaper can be traced back to the 59 BC, when King Julius Caesar ordered upcoming events of social and political happenings carved on metal or stone and posted on white message boards in major cities. These were called Acta Diurnas or Acta publicas. These publications were a form of daily gazettes, which contained records of Roman official notices. They kept masses informed on legal proceedings, trial outcomes and executions, government indignities, information on deaths, marriages and births of prominent people and military campaigns. They were usually displayed in the major cities for a few days then taken downs and destroyed to give space to more Actas. Some Actas were censored and made private while others were free for the public eyes.

Daily Hand written newssheets The early form of newspaper structure, which was carved in metal and stone, evolved to newssheets. In the 8th century, china started producing hand written news sheets which contained memorials and letters written to the emperor, information on wars, social conducts, economic situations and decisions passed or unaccepted by the emperor. These newssheets were hand written on silk and produced every day. They were sent to imperial officers in every province who would in turn read it to the public.

Invention of the printing press in 1447, Johann Guttenberg invented the moveable type, which was useful in prints in mass and ensuring dissemination of news, exchange of ideas and spreading of knowledge. Manuscript newssheets printed on one side of a single paper, in form of pamphlets, news books and newsletters began to be circulated which had information on various subjects on commerce, news events and trade. Readers of these newspapers began to pay for newspapers in order to be acquainted with current happenings.

In the 17th century, the newspaper structure changed in terms of periodicity and content. Newspapers began to be produced regularly and more frequently and the content shifted to reports on international issues i.e. French newspapers reported on the British royal families and news on other countries and their scandals while the English newspapers reported on the French military happenings. Some of these modern newspapers included the Relation aller Frnemmen und gedenckwrdigen Historien in Germany, which was, founded in 1605, Gazette of France published in 1631, Nieuwe Tijdingen of Belgium published in 1616 and the London Gazette of England published in 1665.

Censorship In the late 17th century, the contents of the newspaper began to shift to local news. Newspapers began reporting about local happenings in the country and editors were not allowed to publish anything that might incite the public into chaos, thus certain information was censored from the public. This prompted counties like Sweden to pass and enact laws that ensured freedom of the press.

Invention of the telegraph and Newspapers as organisations with the introduction of the telegraph in the 18th century, the print media evolved to a completely new level. Information became more timely and relevant since it could be transferred in a matter of minutes, and men like Pulitzer Joseph and Rupert Murdoch transformed newspapers into businesses, building empires that would publish and disseminate newspapers to the entire nation. Murdoch began with one newspaper The News in Adelaide Australia after his fathers death. He founded his corporation called News limited and started acquiring other newspaper agencies like The Sunday Times in which he changed its structure to tabloid form making it a huge success. He later bought other newspaper agencies like The Daily Mirror- an afternoon publication, The Dominion, a New Zealand daily and launched the first Australian national daily The Australian. The Australian had a change in structure it was not a tabloid but rather a broadsheet which had levels of quality such as colour. He also acquired the Sydney morning tabloid The Daily Telegraph and later on expanded his newspaper industry to Britain, America and Asia.

Organisations like The Times acquired printing presses that could produce many copies per minute and that could print on both pages as opposed to one page as before. This made newspapers cheaper and widely circulated to the masses. Newspaper became the primary source of news and information.

Introduction of Broadcast radio the explosion of broadcast radio into the world made the newspaper industry re-examine and re-evaluate their role as the leading news and information providers. It was feared that radio would soon replace newspapers as the leading news provider to the society hence newspaper changed their structure and format in terms of content. They broadened their content to cover local news, international news, sports, entertainment and obituaries, so that they could have in depth coverage of the happenings. Colour was also incorporated to broaden the looks and appeal of the newspaper.

Introduction of TV and the Internet the introduction of TV was a major blow to the newspaper industry as circulation of newspaper dropped. This forced the newspaper industry to revamp the newspapers in terms of appeal and content in that they began publishing short, concise and to the point stories. The newspaper industry and the TV media industry began to merge and borrow stories from each other. Corporations like news corps, and news limited introduced digital divisions to deal with online production of newspapers and advocated for cross media ownership which would allow ownership of major newspapers and TV station by one corporation or individual. The structure of newspaper shifted entirely to a business venture and industry.

The structure of the newspaper also changed to allow users to browse for the intended information easily and more colours were used. Newspapers began selling space for advertisements making the newspaper industry more of a business venture than an information provider does. Some newspaper publishers began producing periodical newspapers like dailies and weeklies, newspapers by regions like the national and international newspapers and newspapers for a specific target audience like business newspapers for the businesspersons, sports newspapers for sports men etc.  Sizes of the newspaper changed from newsletters and news-books as it was before to having broadsheet newspapers, tabloids and Berliners. Printing changed from the cheap letterpress printing to offset printing, which saw the four-colour separation possible.

Circulation increased and credibility became a major issue as newspapers played the role of the public watchdog and they were hence meant to be unbiased but objective, have no plagiarism and publish facts. They became an interactive media where readers were allowed to send in their opinions on certain issues and send letters to the editors concerning matters of public opinions. The internet saw the newspaper industry produce cheaper newspapers, come up with on line editions and organisations were formed that would regulate the newspaper industry.

How the Modern Newspaper is organised
With the invention of radio, TV and the internet, newspaper publishers were forced to revamp the newspapers and organise them in such a way that the readers could get the information easily. This organisation meant that the newspapers would be laid out in such a way that every event or item would easily be recognisable.

General News this is always at the front page of the newspaper and contains the most important news both locally and internationally. The news is always conveyed in bold headings known as banners to attract the reader.

Editorial this is a page where publishers or editors give their opinions on issues of public interest
Sports This page contains news on sports, sportsmen and women and upcoming sports events both locally and internationally.

Classified Ads this is an advertisement section where people or organisations place adverts on homes, cars, employment, legal notices etc.

Finance this section contains information about businesses, banking, exchange rates, stock markets and prices of commodities.

Entertainment this section contains information on box offices, movies TV programmes horoscopes, and cartoons, and offers activities such as puzzles, crosswords and code words.

Society this section provides gossip about prominent people as well as what they are up to.
 Travel and Tourism this section provides information about departure and arrival of planes and ships, scenic places and activities offered in those scenic places.

Obituaries this page provides information about people who have passed on, and the schedule for their burials.

Home and Culture this section provides information about home care in general.
Foreign news This section provides news from other countries that are important for the public.

Effects of Technology on Newspaper Structures
The invention and introduction of the printing presses, telegraphs, radios, televisions, computers and the internet has had positive and negative effects on print media. These technologies made production of quality mass newspapers at a very high speed possible. Colour separation is now possible making newspaper have more than one colour for appeal. Editors now have tools like Desktop Publishing and MSWord that help them come up with appropriate layouts for the newspaper. The internet has allowed the production of online and digital newspapers which can be accessed anywhere by those with access to the internet and advertising space to go down thereby reducing circulation and sales of the newspaper and causing loss of jobs in the newspaper industry. It has caused a risk to the traditional paper print and fear that the traditional format would be rendered obsolete.

Conclusion
Since its inception, the newspaper has undergone many rapid changes, most of which have been because of technological advancements. Most newspapers now rely on other news services like Reuters on their news coverage and others have fallen due to financial hard times. In addition, with radio and TV as well as other news providing tools, newspaper has undergone a rapid makeover in terms of content and layout and it is feared that the traditional newspaper format will soon die out.