MEDIA MANAGEMENT:Division, Business section, Press

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Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

LESSON 23

MEDIA MANAGEMENT

The issue of media management was the next once newspapers and magazines became a known

entity in the society.

In the initial phase of print communication, publications were not very regular not only in the sense of on

time the next day, or on a particular day in case of periodicals, but also in the sense of their layouts, design,

number of pages and the content.

The media continued in this fashion by the end of 18th century. But in the meantime the world of

advertising and some modernization in the printing process had been introduced. The 19th century saw the

print media getting into a great discipline as dailies started fashioning themselves in the sense of contents,

regularity in publishing and observing the time of appearance in the market.

The media management means to make sure that a publication meets its deadlines, keeps contents, generate

revenue and maintains its technical wing to be there in the hands of end-readers well in time.

To manage print media is a hard task. Colleges and universities run special courses on media management

and specialists are engaged to seek advice on matters to manage and maintain a publication.

Division

Any publication has three clear areas to manage:

· Editorial

· Business

· Technical

Editorial

The most important area of a daily is its editorial section. A large circulation daily has to follow a

service structure to make sure that the people working in the editorial department are in a well defined

hierarchy.

The staff is generally divided into two categories:

· Field staff

· Newsroom and editorial

The field staff comprises reports who are assigned beats (areas) like crime, politics, business, environment,

sports or some are assigned with special reports on different subjects.

The other part of the editorial staff is supposed to mange the newsroom where ultimately every matter is

taken care of that is to appear the next day. The part of the staff is supposed to write daily editorials,

articles, comments etc. All the staff is headed by an editor who is responsible for what report or comment

has appeared in the paper.

Writing for a newspaper is not an easy task. The writer has to take into account the policy of the paper, laws

and regulations and the ethics which are generally observed in a society. Many a time writers face severe

reaction on their write-ups and have to go behind bars. The publications have to see closure for adhering to

their policy if it is against the government.

Business section

Every publication needs management of its finances. The revenue it generates and the money it

spends. For revenue generation advertising and circulation departments are established. The advertising

department keeps making campaign to generate revenue. It fixes rates of different type and size of

advertisements appearing on the regular pages or special supplements.

Introduction to Mass Communication MCM 101

Two color ads and multicolor ads are charged differently. Likewise if an advertiser wants ad of its product

appear at a particular place and page, it is supposed to pay more. In big newspapers cost difference between

an ordinary ad and the one at a particular spot is very high to the extent of 400 per cent.

Ad which appear brief and usually in one column are called classified while others are noted as display ads.

Normally newspapers charge ad cost in advance. But in case of advertising agencies newspapers allow a

credit for 90 days, though this period varies from publication to publication.

The circulation department also meant to undertake exercises to increase the circulation of the publication.

It not only helps generate finances but also goes to create a mark of the daily in the market. It is always a

pride for a publication to note its high circulation.

The accounts department in the business section is supposed to be taking care of disbursement of salaries

to the staff, purchase of components of machines, paper, ink and the transport. This department also helps

the company to maintain its audit reports.

Press

The printing side of a newspaper or a periodical inside the office is referred to as press in the sense

of printing press. All matters pertaining to printing press are referred to as press matters.

The foremost task of this department is ensure that the newspaper would be printed at the desired time

(deadline) and available for distribution the next morning.

It is the press department which tells the directors (owners) about the newsprint (paper) requirement. The

newsprint comes in the form of huge roles and its consumption depends on the size and volume number

of pages printed every day. The newsprint has to be bought in enough quantity well in advance. The next

task is to keep camera for filming the copies pasted with news and ads and which are handed over to it by

the editorial department. And from filming to plate making and the inks used to print the final plates.

It sounds little technical but then this is how the whole process of the printing press is managed for a

regular publication. This department usually operates in the night no matter it is cold, hot or raining. Any

small mistake here may ruin the whole work performed by other departments in the day.

The management of print media is done more efficiently if the managers are fully acquainted with the

working of all the three major sections of the publication. Normally newspapers hold regular training

sessions for the people who are to be assigned with the task of managing the publication.

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