LABOR DAY: How many reporters does it take to produce The
Bradford Era?
No, not a joke. A column for Labor Day about the daily grind of
a newspaper reporter, a job which can build you up and tear you
down – at the same time.
At the risk of sounding horribly self-indulgent, we wanted to
explain to our readers the “labor” reporters do to produce this
finished product every day but Sunday and two holidays. (And, no,
this is not one so you’ll still get your paper tomorrow.)
Every day, this newspaper produces enough information to publish
a small book. While the AP provides much of the biggest stories
from around the world, all the local content comes from a handful
of people.
The Era has a layout editor, a sports editor, a city editor and
a couple part-time photographers. In addition, there is a managing
editor who, among other things, writes this column six days a week.
We also have a sports writer, and a flock of correspondents
covering news from across the region.
Notice, we don’t have a proofreader. (We only mention this
because so many of our letters begin, “Don’t you people have a
proofreader?”)
But today’s column is about those four full-time reporters who
cover City Council, School Board and a dozen or so other
municipalities. Every day, a reporter calls the police agencies in
the region and goes to the local “cop shop.” If there’s an
important trial, for a murder, for instance, we’ll be there.
Reporters call to find out the temperature in the Allegheny
Reservoir, pull together wire reports for our lottery lists and
weather reports. And, of course, they write up all the
obituaries.
Virtually every piece of local news – from how swine flu will be
handled by the hospital to an excursion to find Big Foot to a
report on oil drilling in the Allegheny National Forest – is
covered almost exclusively by these four people.
They have to know history, government, math, politics, science,
and how to write a clear sentence. A little psychology helps.
It’s a labor of love, yes – but still a labor. We tip our press
hat today to the reporter, the backbone of any newspaper.
