The Lowlands Newsroom Model

Abstract

This paper sheds light on newspaper sub-editors, the “forgotten stepchildren of the newsroom” and considers their position within the larger organizational model of the newsroom. In order to explore the sub-editor's position in the news production chain, we take an ethnographic approach. We draw on participant observation in the newsrooms of a Belgian broadsheet and a broadsheet from the Netherlands. In our study of the sub-editor, we observe how at both newspapers the newsroom model differs from those previously described by Esser, and we propose the term “Lowlands newsroom model”. At the same time, we demonstrate how, although the same Lowlands newsroom model is applied in both newsrooms, the spatial setting, division of workload and the sub-editor's profile impact on the sub-editor's ability to intervene in the news production process. We argue that exploring this newsroom model is necessary, not only considering the general newsroom flow, but also the much debated future of the newspaper “subber”. Furthermore, we aim to open the door to future journalism studies research of the sub-editor and hope to move towards a more complete definition of the sub-editor as a—in the language of Gieber—genuine “newspaperman”.

KEYWORDS:

• ethnography
• newspaper
• newsroom model
• sub-editing

Notes

1. We have chosen the term “sub-editor”, used in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, to refer to the news workers who are the focus of this study. In the United States, however, they are called “copy editors”. This article uses the word “journalist” in the British sense, to mean exclusively “reporter” or “writer.”

2. After some discussion we agreed not to use the newspapers' titles.

3. In Belgium, CIM (Centre for Information about the Media) collects and publishes data about media distribution. It takes into account the circulation of newspapers and magazines, as well as charting the range of TV, radio, the internet and cinema. HOI, the Institute for Media Auditing, is the Dutch counterpart.

4. At the Belgian newspaper consecutive changes at the top brought along another shift: the online newsroom is now physically integrated in the print newsroom. Print and online remain separate disciplines; the print journalist is not charged with multimedia tasks.

5. The reason why significantly more time was spent in the Belgian newsroom has to do with the fact that the Belgian newspaper was the primary site for the first author's broader research project. We believe that for the purposes of this paper, this difference can be overlooked, as the time spent in the Dutch newsroom was meant as a focused ethnography to address the specific research questions for this individual paper only.

6. Initially, our research had the full cooperation of the management of both papers: access to the newsrooms, meetings and documents was allowed without restrictions. Over the course of this study, boundaries have grown narrower. Times are hard for written media and both in Belgium and the Netherlands magazines and newspapers have seen sales figures plummet. Recently, this resulted in far-reaching changes in the Belgian newspaper's organization. Changes at the top in 2012 and 2013 have had repercussions for staff on the newsroom floor, resulting in a “newsroom in turmoil”, reminiscent of a much protested termination of 13 news workers in 2009 (six journalists, three sub-editors, two layout sub-editors and two photo desk employees).Two others left voluntarily. As the (three) newly appointed editors-in-chief were working towards a fresh start in the autumn of 2013, full access to the first author was discontinued indefinitely. She, however, continues to work as a sub-editor.

7. We must mention that, in accordance with Russial's (2009) findings, the sub-editors in our study were not involved with the production of online news.

8. We will look into this further. For now, we can state that deadlines and newsroom conventions play a part.