When newspapers arrive in the mail, it’s easy for most readers to take for granted that everything is organized and tidy, that headlines and photo captions make sense, and the stories are coherent and absent of typos (most of the time).

It’s expected, no less. We expect it of ourselves, too. 

What people may not know is that there is a tremendous amount of knowledge and teamwork that goes into those pages every day. Readers know who The Bulletin’s reporters and photographers are because you see their bylines day in and day out, and you may see them out at events, council meetings, court hearings. But the editors and designers are the crew behind the scenes who make sure their work is delivered in a nice, presentable package. 

The work starts with news editors, like city editor Julie Johnson and editor Tim Trainor. They work with reporters to come up with stories or expand on a suggested idea. They edit the stories, asking important questions to make sure the story is not missing any relevant information, double check names and locations for correct spelling and ensure sentences are grammatically correct and absent of typos (some of which can be embarrassing when missed). 

Then there’s our copy desk chief and all-around news print institution, Tim Doran. He pulls wire for non-local content (this is no small task). He copy edits. He makes sure all the fonts, taglines, bylines, headlines and every other piece of content that goes into the newspaper looks right (again, no easy task). 

Our design team takes all of the components, including comics and puzzles as well as the stories and photos and puts them on the pages (once again, no small task). Once they’re done, the editors and Doran check once again that everything is in its correct place, stories are complete and nothing is missing. And then its off to the printer. And soon to your mailbox.

As an editor who is newly exposed to the production side of The Bulletin’s print product, it’s surprising to realize how much there is to know to turn what we do on the news side into the paper product that’s delivered to our readers. 

I’m grateful and proud to be a member of The Bulletin’s team, we couldn’t do what we do without each and every person. 

– Jody Lawrence-Turner, projects editor