What is Output desk Journalism?

Introduction

Journalism is that line of profession that has to do with the writing, broadcasting, reporting and publishing of news, either on print media, which involves newspapers, magazines on radio or television or over the internet.

It also has to do with the collection, production and distribution of information, stories and events of the happenings in society. This information and stories must only be collected and reported based on facts with proof or evidence. Depending on the situation, there is evidence of an audio or video recording; for the newspapers, there is proof of pictures, charts or graphs, and maps showing geographical locations.

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List of Departments in Journalism- Output desk Journalism

In journalism and on a wider range, there are basically two important departments in every news channel. These departments are; The Technical department and Editorial department.

The Technical department is concerned with all the technicalities and mechanical needs the entire news channel and especially the editorial department require, while the Editorial is in charge of the actual journalistic aspect of the news channel.

The Editorial division is again divided into two important units. These two units have specific functions too, they are the Input and Output units. Input unit or department is made up of reporters, journalists who are out on the field sorting out and gathering news, stories and events to send back to the news house or the headquarters for broadcasting. The input unit provides all the detailed information to be reported on air.

What is Output desk Journalism?

The Output department on the other hand is that department that concerns themselves with the editing, packaging and reorganizing of the raw information sent in by the input unit for broadcasting and publishing.

The members in the output desk department are responsible for forming the scripts that reporters use for broadcasting and are also in charge of developing the stories sent in by the input department. The roles played by the output desk journalists helps in cutting down the delay in broadcasting news.

It cuts down the delay between the time an event happened and the time it is been put on the air. The output desk department in journalism decides how exactly an event is reported because it is the content they create out of a raw file that a broadcaster uses.

The output desk department in journalism also decides what the viewers or the general public see. They can decide what news is about and if the general public should get detailed information about a story or an event. With this, the output desk in journalism is the packaging, reforming and production of news, stories and events in a news channel by a specific set of editors.

The editors in the output desk department also decide what goes on as headlines, how they are structured and what story will be tagged the “Big Story” of a news or television broadcast.

One vital role the output desk department play in the production of news is their decisions on what images and sound should be used in the production and broadcasting of news. Viewers are believed to be attracted more by visuals, sound and inscriptions but are more fascinated with striking images and inscriptions without sounds. All this happens to be decided by the members of an output desk department in journalism.

The editors working in the output desk department are expected to multitask and be quick in making decisions because of the complexity of the work. In some cases, broadcasters are required to go on air when a story or news is gathered. The editors need to make quick decisions about what the public should see and hear, especially concerning sensitive matters. It is equally the responsibility of the output desk unit to ensure that their news outlets always produce the best results.

Conclusion

The success of a properly packaged and pleasant to the ears and eyes news is 80% dependent on the capacity and productivity of the output desk department, one can confidently say that the output desk in journalism is, however, tasking and requires a sense of strict commitment. The output desk journalist has the major responsibility in producing news in a news channel, nothing goes out without going through them.

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